


We are the lost and forgotten

by elle_ish



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Blood, Castle in the Sky inspired, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Directly after Season 1, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hearing Voices, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Mind Control, M/M, References to Depression, Shiro and Keith are bros, Silent Hill Inspired, Slow Burn, Violence, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-08-27 08:04:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 75,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8393710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elle_ish/pseuds/elle_ish
Summary: Keith was hearing voices. Well, that’s not exactly right. Voices create the idea that there were multiple. No, there was just one. Only one demanding, raspy, constant, annoying voice. Ever since himself and Shiro were saved from that stupid heat infested planet it has been traveling with him. That voice, that irreplaceable sound, would just not shut up.“Awwh, is our wittle Keithy-boo not doing okay since we rescued him? Is being a Defender of the Universe too much to handle?”“Lance!”Keith began to fear he was cracking.





	1. And so it begins

 

It was Pidge who decided to use the word voice. Keith decided to call it an annoyance. The sound he was hearing was more like a dull ache in the back of his mind, a slight cacophonous breeze that only Keith could hear. A background noise made up of foreign figures he just couldn’t grasp, or a blaring high pitched siren from a distance. It changed, the tone and presence was the same, but the way it gained Keith’s attention always adapted with his surroundings. There were never literal words, no verbal sounds put together to form a complete sentence.

The distraction itself made Keith’s skin craw, eerily creeping over his own thoughts during his training sessions and especially at night when everything was quiet. But it was always there, always a presence lingering over Keith, watching him from afar. It became softer when others were present, when they were discussing future plans of what planet would be safe to stop by and recharge, or at night when they were all at dinner eating whatever colour space glop Hunk and Coran had masterfully put together. Keith liked to imagine that it was just Lance’s perpetual loudness that the sound failed to even try to break through to Keith. Nothing could interrupt Lance when he was on a rant.

But it was always when he was with the others that the voice was almost silent, just a soft whisper filling the air.

The other Paladins took notice a few days after it had begun, which wasn’t saying much. After being lost due to the wormhole, it took everyone’s best efforts to find each other. This meant it was at least two full weeks before everyone had reconvened, and no one was in a great state. It was only Keith’s that seemed to linger (or maybe he was just moping, Lance stated, but who knew).

 

* * *

 

It first happened when they were cast away. Through the raging and swirling wormhole, the Black Lion was left with a brutally injured Paladin, Red wouldn’t start, and the Castle of Lions needed energy to refuel, landing on a hospitable planet light years away. Keith, however, felt as though it was months before he saw any sign of life. 

Keith and Shiro ended up together on the same planet. _Luckily,_ for Shiro’s sake. Keith feared to imagine what would have happened had he not been there to clean the other’s wounds, or force him to drink water when his fever became to high.

The planet itself had no life, only because no life could sustain itself there. The entire surface was covered with a mountainous, ragged desert. Everything was jagged, ridged, too high with cliffs and caves. When there was an area flat enough to land, it seemed like it was too close to the planet’s core and thus too hot. Keith thought that maybe there was something like a river of lava underneath the bed of rocks they had made camp on. He remembers how when he put his palm on the jagged stones, the feeling of warm sulfor gas had risen into his palms from miles below. Still present. It made Keith ill to think about.

His life was made even more unsufferable during the heat of the day. The planet was closer to it’s two orbiting suns, and was overall smaller in size by how long the days lasted. There was only two hours without sunlight from a typical earth day, and the hottest part remained for 6 hours at a time. The ragged cliffs gave some shadows to hide beneath, but the heat from below was almost equally as brutal as the two suns. Needless to say, trying to find shelter that didn’t burn Keith’s skin right off had been an issue. And he’s pretty sure he’s lost about ten pounds of water weight alone from this stupid planet.

At first, Shiro had been conscious. Hurt, yes, but conscious. The two had tried to find shelter, Black flying Red slowly over the planet’s surface to find the best area for shade and flat land. They found it eventually, curling up on a cliff’s edge. It was big enough for them to rest on, and gave them enough shade from all sides to be without the suns heat for most of the day light.

However, being alone with no food or water, the two Paladins survived on the emergency kits Allura had prepared in their lions. The two shared their flimsy meals, sizing out to the smallest portions so they could live while trying to fix Red and regain their connections with the others. It was only by Day 3 that Keith remembered how Shiro began waking up a little later, his energy reduced to almost nothing. He smiled and said how it was nothing, ‘don’t worry Keith, I’m fine.’

_Of course._

But he wasn’t. They were outside, opening up a panel on Red’s right leg, trying to figure out the mechanics of it all when just Shiro gasped and clutched his side in pain. The wound had reopened with a jerk when Shiro stretched to offer Keith a tool. Blood splattered as he fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he had said, kept saying even before Keith tried to utter a word. He wasn’t fine and Keith damn well knew it. They had changed the bandages to his wound almost daily, and there had been no healing. In fact, the skin looked near rotting away. The smell didn’t help Shiro’s case either.

It was by Day 5 that Shiro was down for the count, lost away in a fever state. Keith dragged his unconscious body from the outside straight into Black’s cockpit. He used a blanket and pillow to try and make the best medic bed possible for Shiro, given their circumstances. After cleaning the wound a third time that day alone, Keith thought that maybe it was Haggar’s lingering magic effecting Shiro. Or poison. But really, coming from that witch Haggar, was magic and poison really any different?

Keith had no clue, he just knew he wanted to grab her by her non-existent balls and tear her throat to pieces. Not the most beautiful image, but a gruesome murder would make Keith feel slightly better for what she has done to Shiro, to Voltron, to them being stuck on this god forbidden _stupid_ planet.

‘Is that really the best word you can think of, Mullet?’, he could almost hear Lance laugh behind him. Keith growled. He dismissed it, but had silently missed the Cuban paladin.

Keith began checking Shiro’s temperature once more by placing his hand over his forehead. He frowned. “Please be alright, Shiro.”

Day after day was spent in silence: Checking Shiro’s temperature, checking the communicators for other the paladins connections, checking Red for some sort of life, re-rechanging Shiro’s wounds and the cold towelette on his forehead, forcing Shiro to wake up and eat. Checking to make sure Shiro hadn’t heard the hungry growl of Keith’s stomach from giving up his portion once again (and even if it was Keith’s portion what did it matter? There was only so little left food by this point and they might be stuck on this cliff for who knows how much longer and Shiro needed it more. Keith couldn’t let Shiro die. He wouldn’t let Shiro die, he wouldn’t, he wouldn’t.)

The fevered words Shiro had uttered earlier continued to haunt Keith’s mind.

_‘Keith, if I don’t make it out of here, I want you to lead Voltron…’_

Keith gasped and near convulsed, shaking as his pale hand covered his mouth. He had tried not to choke out his reply:

 “ _Shiro, no, please don’t leave me again.”_

He would never tell a soul how ashamed he was. He tried to stay silent, huddled in a corner shivering like a sickly leaf for fear of his friend’s life.

But even he knew he couldn’t hide the sounds of his tears from Shiro’s disturbed sleep.

It was then that the sound came. It started in the silence brought on from this planet. First Keith thought it was the heat getting to him, that had seemed most likely. With a shake of his frazzled head, he also realized that this was a false hope. Something told him that he knew better.

It was that instinct, that needless feeling in his gut warning him about the presence rather than an actual physical noise he could hear. It was exactly that, a presence; it was the kind first felt back in his shack, in his _nice_ and _warm_ and _homely_ _desert shack_ (aka, nothing like this shit). It felt like it had when Blue was calling for him, but there was a threat behind this lingering buzz.

Keith shuttered and promptly decided not to follow it, even though it persisted. Shiro, cut up, injured, and unconscious on a (stupid) heat ray of a death planet, needed his help more.

Day and night the soft whispering grew a little more and a little more. Either becoming louder in its need to gain attention or getting closer, Keith wasn’t sure. He luckily didn’t stick around too long to find out either.

The Galra found their hiding spot, shocking Keith into a moment of reverie. They blasted the paladins in moments. awaking the slumbering humans. Keith, having been ill-prepared for a battle, had his forehead cut open from the falling debris. The planet moved and shook along with the bombs, and Keith felt rage spark before him as he launched into action. The battle began at night.

Keith grabbed his bayard, huddling outside of Black’s jaw, trying to keep the oncoming foot soldiers away. He lashed out, taking down as many as walking Galra as possible. From what he counted, there were 10 fleets, over half on the ground climbing the cliffed walls, while the others remained in the ships flying above, their horribly aimed shots landed on the ragged edges rather surrounding their protective cliff.

Keith fought outside of Black’s cockpit, protecting all that he saw as his. Shiro was inside, he needed to protect them both, save them both, he had to stop the Galra from getting to Shiro. He needed to activate Red.

He felt a stir in his boiling blood as he screamed and pressed forward, attacking two more soldiers and taking them down almost all too easily. Red, laying still beside the Black Lion, awoke suddenly, sensing her Paladins fear. He could feel her own worry, her rising anger at the bombs and gunshots hitting near her paws. He felt his own rage coursing through her: The Galra were the ones to put them into this position, they were the ones to hurt Shiro in the first place, they were the ones to start this stupid war.  
Red’s eyes opened, lifting herself from the ground onto her paws as she made way for her Paladin to enter the cockpit. Just like that, they were one and the same.

Keith and Red fought as best they could, even with Red still not being fully functioning after her last match against Zarkon. Rest was probably key since Keith tried to fix her, but that wasn’t going to happen on the heat-infested planet they had oh-so-luckily landed on.

Pushing his bayard into the socket, Red upgraded magically. Twisting the control, Keith used her laser beam, eying his mark. He made a swift line, slicing straight down the cliffs sides and through the oncoming Galra formation. The stone beneath their alien feet gave way, exploding and bursting from the seams. Keith could see the hot wavy lava spurting out like waves, just as he had predicted.

A small explosion happened from his blast, taking out at least one of the smaller Galran fleets. He watched mesmerized as one of the landed airships sank lusciously slow into the bed of lava. 

Keith remembered feeling worry, he was moving to fast, attacking to many Galra. Red was still hurt, she couldn’t keep it up against this many opponents at the rate Keith was going, especially on her own. They had moved too far away from Shiro at this point, getting lost in battle and the need to defeat the enemy. Black’s presence was no longer hovering over Keith’s shoulders with support. He turned around, the mountainous desert region too sublime and ridged for the Galra to move quickly on foot. In the distance, he saw Black light up, trying to stand. A quiet gasp escaped his lips, quickly turning on his communicator to Shiro’s.

He immediately regretted what he saw. Keith watched as Shiro, barely awake, could only breathe in short and painful wheezes. By the image of his face, Keith could tell he was arching over in pain from his wound. His right arm was holding his side tightly, the cut probably reopened from Shiro waking up and trying to pilot his goddamn lion. One of his was eyes squeezed shut, twitching slightly as the eyelash brushed against the owner’s cheek. The sight only made Keith grimace.

  _No._

Keith could tell by the ragged, harsh breathing and sweat dropping from his forehead that Shiro could barely stay awake. He could barely even move from the toxins inside his body. He needed rest. He needed the healing cryopods back in the Castle of Lions. He hadn’t even been conscious for the last eight days, why the fuck was he even trying to move now?!

Shiro growled, trying to steady his grip over the gear shift while keeping control of his body and mind. It was evident that the agony he felt was overriding, but he was Shiro. He had to do something to help, and that made Keith see red.

With a loud growl, the red paladin glided his hands over his controls, moving with a speed and ferocity from cliff to cliff back to his friend. He was just in time to witness two Galran ships fly over top of the Black Lion, bombing it from above.

Metal parts flew over Keith’s dashing head, and Shiro screamed through the communicator. The image was fading out, like an old television screen emitting only static.

Just before the third explosion hit, Red was flying back up the mountain top, grabbing a hold of the cliff and shooting her laser at the ship, taking the fleet down before even more damage could be done.

Keith moved Red to place Black over her back. Black’s stomach rested over her spine, falling securely into the crease of her neck and head before taking off.

Being the smaller lion, it had made it difficult to fly, but Keith couldn’t help but smile. He knew Shiro couldn’t’ hear him, but he whispered a small, “I’ve got you buddy” for reassurance (admittedly, this was more for himself than anyone).

His eyes were taken away from the moment of relief as he Keith caught sight of the oncoming ships from in the side mirrors. The multiple fleets were following Red, catching up quickly due to being slowed down from the extra weight.

The pit of his stomach sank as they flew over a burning hot molten field, the plumes of toxic gas rising from the reddened creaks on the earth.

Keith was flying, he was flying, and then a sudden and surprised hit to his side took him down. Keith flew out of the chair, the damage of the impact so intense that his helmet flew from his head. His already hurt forehead connected with Red’s control panel hard before landing with a sickening thud on the ground. It was disorienting, his neck already stiff from whiplash.

And all fell silent. He could see a hint of blood falling over his eyes, the increasing scar above his eyebrow line causing only a slight burn to Keith’s compromised state.

The battle outside could no longer be heard, the explosions over his head, or the gunshots firing. He couldn’t place Red’s alarming worry over her paladin and her own safety, nor did he recognize Lance’s voice near screaming for Keith to answer him, his helmet having slid halfway across the floor.

No, the silence remained alongside Keith’s fuzzy vision and sense of nothingness. And it was only when Keith was seconds away from passing out, the heat overlapping Red’s body that the shrill and ragged tone made its way into his head with a perfect clarity.

 

_I know you can hear me._

 

 


	2. deeper down the rabbit hole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who was kind enough to leave kudos or bookmark this fic so far, as well as commenting. It means more than I'd like to admit!! :D 
> 
> !Important! I'm one of the fortunate few who have seen episode two of season two, and given that this fic takes place after the that, I did detail some spoilers from that episode. There's mermaids, a water planet, everything we already know since I tried to keep discreet. But be forewarned, there are very small spoilers from that episode, just fyi!  
> Also, hints of mind control, a scary voice, and some deeper depictions of blood/injuries occur in this chapter.  
> Now onto the fic!

Three days after rescuing the damsels-in-distress (as Lance liked to called it) Lance sat outside of the healing pod, watching each tick….. tick….. tick….. pass by. His thoughts, however, were elsewhere. His played with his thumbs, hummed some notes and every once in a while changed which leg was over top of which as he sat cross-legged on his ass.

Shiro, standing tall, remained unconscious on the other side of the pod. Allura imagined he had a least another full day, earth time, before he would be released. After that it would be bed rest for Shiro whether he liked it or not.

Lance recalled spending a week and half searching for Shiro and Keith. Pidge came right for them, noticing the high beams from being shot across the universe by some sort of mermaid magic (he didn’t understand it, he just experienced it, don’t ask).

After a rather very cute and somewhat somber reunion with Pidge, in which all three Paladins hugged for who knows how long- (And no, Lance did not cry, might I add! It was space dust getting into his eyes) - Pidge found the signals of the Castle of Lions, with a safe Allura and Coran nearby. They had landed on a friendly planet, similar to the Arulians, only these creatures were much larger in height and weight. They had massive amounts fluffy fur, and they also enjoyed more hugs as Lance duly noted. With the team together and the help of the local nonspeaking fluff monsters, Allura and Coran managed to recharge the castle within a day, using said fluff as energy (again, Lance didn’t understand it, he just experienced it, don’t ask- there was still tufts of fluffy pink and blue fur embedded in his jacket).

After that, the paladins took off back into space, in search of their missing Black and Red members. Pidge voiced the concern that they hadn’t even landed on the same planet together. Hunk was the one to have remained optimistic.

A week and a half passed. A brutal, boring, long, tantalizing week before anything of interest happened. (‘Do you know where the word tantalizing comes from Lance? It comes from the ancient Greek myth of Tantalus. He stole ambrosia and nectar from the Gods to bring back for his people. He also cut up and fed his own children to the Gods without them realizing it, can you believe it?! ‘Shut up, Hunk,’)

They were stuck inside the spaceship, not landing anywhere, not piloting the lions, and just really doing a whole lot of nothing. Instead they passed their time silently in the control room, analyzing the message boards with contemplation. It was evident they only had hope on their side, wishing something new would come up.

Lance involved himself in some training, but mostly listened to music. Hunk spent the time using new herbs and spices from the fluff monster’s planet to create a new dish – he was apparently very close to creating an exact replica of some sort of Hawaiian meal with seared tuna and salmon, Lance thought it was. How Hunk got to finding certain non-meat products to look like fish, he had no idea. He didn’t question it either.

Pidge sat on her computer, day and night with the extent of the all the galaxies before her. She linked her computer to the Castle’s maps, helping Allura with her search.

Again, a week and a half of near space silence had Lance wanting to rip his own ears off. He walked around in a circle loudly protesting his anger. Hunk and Coran sat on the couch rightfully ignoring him, while Pidge and Allura just made humming sounds as he continued on his lengthy rant. Didn’t’ they understand that he needed to walk around? He needed to roam, he needed to vent, he needed a fresh breathe of air, he needed someone to take off this edge and bicker with him, but was that somebody there? Noooo sirree! Now he was left alone to deal with this silent shit-

The signal went off.

The two red dots started out weak on the far corner of the map, the red flashing slowly every tick or so. Lance remembered how everyone just stared for a few seconds, almost not believing it. 

“There! There they are! They’re together!” Lance broke the silence first, pointing violently at the screen.

“You are a truly great detective, Lance,” Pidge said, sarcasm evident in her shocked tone. 

Allura caught her breath and turned to the group, garnering all their attention. “Paladins, suit up. The signal is weak meaning that they’re in trouble. We have to get there now!”

When no one moved and silence continued on like some overdramatic American Western scene, Allura slammed her hand against the control panel, forcing everyone from their reverie.

“Hurry up you lazy bones! Get into your lions!”

Allura could be scary when her voice rose into intimidation levels like that, but it worked.

They went off, and within the next hour they were hovering over the planet, witnessing the Galra ships arriving just minutes before them. It was an ambush, one that worked well from what it seemed. The planet was small, maybe taking 45 minutes to fly around the entire surface. It was easy to locate Shiro and Keith, and when they did, it was with a slowed down and dysfunctional Red Lion carrying an unconscious Black Lion on her back. Lance almost wished he had a camera; it was quite the sight.

Pidge and Hunk were the ones to notice the disheveled look of the Black Lion. Some of the parts seemed to be missing from its left side, and pieces had broken apart from her legs and paws. 

“Hunk, Pidge, you two focus on taking out the air fleets. Lance, you’re going to go rescue the Black and Red Lion. Do not fall into battle until those two lions are back safely of the castle.” Allura commanded.

Easy enough, Lance thought, and it was. The Galra hadn’t even noticed the approaching Paladins, too focused on stopping Red and Black. The foot soldiers began to get too cocky, which showed in their movements and form. They broke their positions and fell out of tactic. They assumed they had already won the battle and slowed down over the ridges.

_Idiots._

Lance flew from above to beside the ships, taking them out with Blue’s paws and knocking them from his hardy sides. After they had dropped down like dead flies to the planet’s desert surface, he finally neared Keith and began trying to connect with the other’s communicator. He needed to gain his attention, show he was there to help, just hold on!

It was obvious that Keith was failing, though, tiredness seen in Red’s faulty movements. Lance dodged an incoming explosion, which only then flew directly into the Red Lion, taking him out from above. Lance saw the light fade from Red as her controls shut down. The two dive bombed onto the molten rocks, landing with a sick thud and scrapping against the ground. Lance screamed, flying faster than he assumed possible. He dove down to the fiery field, using Blue’s eyes as his own. And before he knew it, he had red’s belly on top of his back, saving her from melting due to the lava. Flying upwards, he grabbed Shiro’s Lion by his front paws, holding him.

Lance’s speed slowed tremendously, as he assumed it would from having just saved two extra the lions like a boss. Lance hadn’t feared though, he knew he’d make it to safety. Pidge and Hunk were on his tail taking out the remaining ships before arriving back to the Castle. Allura had the wormhole activated and set to depart.

And just like that, they had their team back.

Shiro was in the worst shape, though. His wound had grown and appeared rotten, the obvious toxins had done horrible things to his body. There were rashes all over his skin, he breathed through his mouth as he had too high of a fever, a nose too stuffed to do otherwise. The wound bled and bled all over Lance, soaking his own suit when he helped Hunk place him safely into the pod. 

“Haggar’s magic is like a poison, it’ll take days for the pod to cleanse it from his system.” Allura said, squeezing Lance and Hunk’s tense shoulders. “But he is alive. Fear not, Paladins. Shiro will be okay.”

Keith was another story.

Lance essentially hauled Keith’s sleeping, bleeding, and bony ass from Red into the healing pod, where the raven haired boy only spent a full day before literally pulling himself out.

This was much less time than what Allura had suspected and wanted. That much was obvious because Keith still needed to heal, but the stubborn idiot wouldn’t have it. After tear the pod’s entrance open, he stumbled out rather dejectedly, scaring Lance out of his thoughts. He turned, seeing the Red Paladin trip over his own feet. Shocked, Lance let out a little scream before jumping up and grabbing Keith as the other landed on his knees. 

“How are you out?’” Lance shouted. Keith groaned and placed a hand to his head, Lance’s voice too loud for his liking. 

“I mean, it’s not like I’m dejected from this, glad to have you back buddy, but dude! Allura said you needed to be in there for another few days! And I didn’t think you could choose when you got out,” He said a little quieter, noticing the others agony.

Keith only shrugged. Using Lance as leverage, he stood up on a bruised knees and turned to Shiro.

With eyes widened Keith couldn’t turn away.

“He’ll be in there for a little while longer, but’s he’s going to be okay.” Lance admitted, hoping his words were what the other needed to hear. Keith just looked so wrecked, so hurt, and guilty. It was just painful for Lance to watch.

“It was my fault.” Keith whispered, head facing downward with obvious shame. His eyes were starting to become red rimmed as he grimaced. 

Needless to say, Lance not only felt his heartstrings tug, but be completely ripped out and torn away from his soul.

“No, no, no, no. None of that ‘oh woe as me, it's my fault’ crap. It wasn’t your fault, if anything you saved him. He wouldn’t have made it out from that desert had you not been there. We all know that. You kept him alive, alright?” 

Lance noticed Keith’s glazed over eyes, a less bright colour of blue was murky over his irises.

“Well, fine then.” Lance huffed out in anger. “Ignore what I have to say, even if I did save both of your asses. You’re welcome, by the way!”

No response. No movement, just a small blink.

“Okay, you’re having a moment, I get it. I’ll leave. Sheesh!”

Lance then walked around the castle, not completely understanding what just happened. But he decided that he should probably go let someone know that Keith was awake.

After that Lance spent his time sitting outside of Shiro’s pod. Usually this time was spent beside Keith, who would do the same unless he was training. Lance decided Keith’s current life was 50% Shiro watching, 49.5% training. The other .5% was balanced between sleeping, and eating, or possibly cocooning because who could do both with only .5% of their time? Lance made a solid note of all this, not liking what the other was doing to his body.

Keith breathed out loudly sitting beside Lance. His ribs had been hurt during the attack, but it was his own damned fault for not staying in the pod, Lance thought. The bandage on Keith's head kept reopening during training, and he was noticeably more on edge and even more so quiet. It made Lance’s own anxiety rise.

Also, the boy had lost a considerable amount of weight, which was scary in and of itself since Keith was lean as fuck to begin with. There were dark circles under his eyes and his shoulders slumped forward, clearly exhausted.

Every once in a while, Lance noticed, especially during the more silent moments, Keith would visibly shiver, or look over his shoulder in concern. One time he whipped around so quickly and fearfully that Lance thought his head would fly off from his body. 

Lance would laughed at him and his strange ways, but never garnered a response. 

“Hey, Mullet?” Lance started one day, desperate for some sort of response at this point. “I know you don’t have the words yet that can accurately describe your thanks for my saving your ass, but I’ve decided to let it sliiddeee.” He drawled out the slide as long a possible, his side grin way too over the top. “There’s no need to thank me, you know! It was just a hard day’s work in my awesome life.” 

Nothing.

Alright then, desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Oh, do you want to know something? While you were vacationing on that fire planet, guess who beat your high score in training? That’s right, this guy!” He shoved his own fingertips to his stuck out chest, his smile lopsided with confidence.

Eye twitch. But nodda.

“I guess you can say that I can now kick your ass in all forms. Top pilot of the garrison? No more! Everyone make your way for Lance, saviour of the universe, and future husband to the most beautiful and most awesome girl in the world!” 

Keith remained silent. 

Okay, now Lance as getting mad. And mildly concerned. Usually competitions excited Keith.

“Y’know, maybe we could practice, like right now?” Lance suggested frantically. “I know I may not be the best teacher for a recovering invalid such as yourself, but I promise to go easy on you.” He tactfully winked. 

Keith, still staring at Shiro and breathing loudly, silently clutched his side from pain. He shuttered, eyes slipping shut before he slowly stood up unsteady legs.

Lance, not being the best for these sorts of situations, took in Keith’s glazed over expression and shivering form.

Lance’s face fell in worry. “Hey, Keith?” He asked calmly, albeit with honest concern. “Listen, I don’t know what happened out there. But right now, I have to say that you’re scary the heck out of me.” 

Keith blinked, the first signs of life returning to him through an exasperated sigh. Regarding Lance with mere confusion, he shakily pointed towards the door, “I think I’m going to go train.” Keith spoke with raw tone. He probably needed water by the sounds of it. Actually thinking about it, when Keith wasn’t asleep on the couch or sitting in front of Shiro, he was training, even against everyone’s wishes and telling him not to.

He didn’t listen, of course, and Lance couldn’t actually remember seeing him drinking anything as of late. As he thought about it, Lance remembered how Keith could barely eat half of his meal the previous night. 

Maybe he was just feeling guilt from Shiro? Lance wasn’t sure, but he just nodded his head, allowing Keith to leave to room. 

Something just wasn’t sitting right.

 

* * *

 

When Shiro had woken up, he had literally fallen out of the pod. Lance and Hunk were there to catch him before he broke his nose on the cold yet perfectly kept floor. It was almost comical if everyone wasn’t already so worried.

Lance and Hunk moved Shiro so that his arms were hanging over their shoulders, perching him up right. He looked around gently.

“Hey there everyone.” He huffed out with a small smile, noticing Pidge, Allura, and Coran’s expressions of concerned. “What- what exactly happened?”

Hunk, securing his arm gently around Shiro’s waist, smiled and just said, “lets get you rested first. I’ll start dinner and we can talk about everything then.” Shiro seemed to accept this without argument.

Lance, less gently and pulling Shiro’s metal arm out of his sockets while leading Shiro to his room, spoke with a slightly different attitude. “Yeah, and a shower might do you some good too, god it stinks done here man!” He made a face and brushed under his nose, making a scene. Shiro laughed at Lance’s obvious joke, as did Allura and Pidge.

“Hunk’s right. You should get some rest for now, and we’ll talk over dinner.” Allura said with what Lance liked to call her Captain-tone. 

Halfway down the hall approaching Shiro’s room, the taller and limping leader asked where Keith had been. Everyone was there, but where was Keith? He made it back safely right? He was rescued, right? Was he onboard the ship, right?! He hadn’t been left behind, right!?!!!

“Calm down, Shiro, calm down!” Hunk argued, grabbing the other’s attention.

“Keith is… Keith is doing okay. He was just really worried about you after the rescue. Heck, he didn’t even stay in his pod long enough before making sure you were still alive. And he hasn’t really been sleeping.’

“or eating, or talking,” Lance muttered under his breath, entering Shiro’s room and lifting the heavy mass of muscle onto his bed.

Hunk ignored Lance but Shiro obviously took note. “I think he’s asleep right now, which is why we didn’t want to wake him up. But he is fine! Don’t worry, just sleep for now, and we’ll come back for you at dinner, okay Shiro?”

The other reluctantly nodded, making a guilt sodden face even as his eyes already started to fall shut.

“Th-thhanks guys.” He murmured out with a stutter. And just like that Shiro was out like a lamp 

“Huh,” Hunk blinked. “You’d think three days in a healing pod would make you not want to sleep. Nice to see Shiro being the exception.”

He pouted his lips and shrugged, tugging Lance’s jacket out of Shiro’s room.

“Come on, you’re going to help me with the dinner. You know how to cut herbs better than anyone!”

“Awwwh, Hunk!” Lance argued childishly. “I thought it was Pidge’s day to help you out!”

 

* * *

 

 

Lance hated making space goo. It was gross, the texture was slimy and icky and kind of like play-doh but way more liquidy. It got everywhere and it would stick to his skin for days. It was Satan, Lance decided.

“You just don’t know how to handle it,” Hunk said out loud, amusingly watching Lance suffer from the corner. There were seeps of purple space goo plastered to his waving hands.

“Get it off get it off! Dios mio, get it off!!” 

“You have to treat it like it’s a living, breathing being, Lance! Treat it with respect, and it won’t stick to you.” Hunk demonstrated by gently rubbing his hands over the goo, forming a ball before kneading it out into a flattened form. Nothing stuck to his skin.

Lance’s eyebrows shot up. This wasn’t fair. The goo played favourites, it was biased, sexist, all the ists that could apply to Lance and not Hunk.

“Yup, nope. Not happening. I don’t care what you say, this space gunk hates me!” Hunk sighed as he walked over to the irate Lance. He helped slide the goo off of his hand, forming the remaining bits into a ball before kneading it out again.

“Oh come on, man. It just senses that you hate it. I think that’s why it sticks to you. It’s trying to show you that it’s nice and just wants some love and attention. Isn’t that right little space goo!” Hunk started making gurgling noises at the food, petting it softly as though it were a palm sized kitten.

Lance arched an eyebrow. “Hunk, it’s food, not a pet. It’s going to be eaten.”

Lance swore he heard the goo growl.

Hunk stopped petting the space goo, going back to his faux-flour station. “Well I know it’s not living, but that’s not a justifiable argument. I mean, many families still raise their pets and love them so they can grow as healthy and strong as possible before killing them for foo-“ 

“Nooppe!” Lance was gone, he was out. He couldn’t process that thought. It wasn’t happening. Nope. It was like reading _Charlotte’s Web_ all over again. I mean, it was logical for the days of yore but just no. That was like buying his pet dog Sparky, only to love and nurture the little thing, make it fall in love and think he’ll love it and protect it forever and always, but then wham! Lance shuttered at the thought. How could any one do that to Sparky!!! 

He wasn’t on Earth, he hadn’t been on Earth for- for, who knows how long! What if someone was doing that to Sparky right now! Lance had no way of knowing.

He gasped loudly. If anyone would do it, it would be his little brother Sebastian. He always hated how Sparky obviously favoured Lance. Seb’s jealously was going to get his precious dog killed for food, oh my god! But then again, Lance reminded himself, his older twin siblings Charo and Amadea wouldn’t let that happen. They loved animals too much. As did his Mom. And Dad. And his Abuela.

Lance frowned. He missed them. All of them. They didn’t have much and there may not have been an abundance of food, but the love was always present. And the noise. There was always something going on, someone speaking, something loud happening. Lance was craving that sound in space. In all honesty, it surprised him what he missed from home 

Wallowing in self-pity, Lance walked over the bridge to the control room, wanting another look at their map. Maybe he could find earth this time. He hadn’t found it yet, but they were in a completely new area from their last wormhole adventure. That whitish line in the distance that he could see from his room might have been the Milky Way. Maybe, just maybe, Earth was close by.

Lance turned the corner and with a swift unlocking of the door he stepped in.

Immediately a sudden cold ran through Lance. Keith was already there, watching hazily at the window, back turned towards him. It was eerily reminiscent to a few days earlier when Keith had first woken up. But now his lips were moving softly as if he were trying to form words, yet nothing came out. His right hand was tugging gently on his dagger that was always sheathed to his side.

This was… odd. Completely unusual, right? Lance knew Keith wasn’t 100% normal, but this was just an entire new level of awkward mixed with a pinch of ‘what the fuckery is happening’ for Lance’s pleasure. 

He walked up beside Keith. The other boy looked to have just come from training and his post shower, if his wet hair and workout clothes were anything to go by. He remained silent, staring forward with his glazed over expression. It was like he didn’t even recognize Lance was beside him.

Lance blinked while his poor heart picked up a bit of speed. He had not had a good day so far, and a delusional Keith was just the cherry on top of the ‘lets-watch-Lance-suffer’ cake. This must be some sort of Karma from his past life. Maybe he had been Tantalus and the Gods were just tormenting him by forcing him to suffer through these unpredictable scenarios.

He grabbed Keith’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. 

“Hey, Keith? Buddy? You there?” He called out.

With the touch and press of skin, Keith straightened forward, eyes popping slightly as the haze seemed to lift away. He blinked wearily, regarding his surroundings with a hint of confusion. His eyes finally landed on Lance, not fully understanding what happened or how he had arrived at this location. But the way he held himself, it was also obvious he didn’t want to to talk about it. 

“Wha-Lance?” He began to stutter with a shake of his head. “Oh hey, Lance, didn’t see you there. I guess my skills of not needing to see the unnecessary are getting better.” He joked confidently yet quickly, his shaky tone still obvious as he spoke.

Lance offered Keith a displeased expression.

“Thanks, my good ole buddy o’pal. What are you doing here anyway?” He gestured toward the galaxy mapped out in front of them, stars aligned so brightly they created a soft blue hue for the room, shedding their own type of light.

However, this question only seemed to irritate Keith. “What am I- what are you doing here?” He barked out irrationally.

Yup, he wasn’t wanting to speak about it. Something was up, and the kid was a terrible actor, Lance decided. But he figured he’d let it slide for now. Keith was being semi-normal and _arguing_ and what a blessing it was!

Shrugging, he turned to the map and pointed at it randomly, finger tip swaying with uncertainty.

“I’m here to locate Sparky!”

Keith looked at him as if he were a squid with 4 spider legs protruding from his head.

“What?”

“I’m here to find Sparky.” Lance drawled out.

Keith blinked. “Is this like a pet name for your earphones or something? Because if you lost them again I think I saw them in the kitchen-“

“Excuse you, who in their right mind would name their headphones Sparky? My headphones’ names are Dallas and Mable. One for each ear, thank you very much! And Sparky is my dog.”

Keith’s expression seemed to soften at that. “Oh,” was all he said.

“Yeah, I came in here to see if my dog Sparky was still alive… I- I uhm, thought I saw the Milky Way from my room, so I thought that maybe, I don’t know, it’s stupid, but maybe-”

“Lance,” Keith interrupted, hand out to calm the other down. “I get it.”

Lance smiled back, relief from not having to say the actual words.

The two sat down together, staring at the billions of stars. Keith held his knees to his chest while Lance let his legs stretch out, his hands holding himself up as he leaned back.

From this angle, Lance knew in his heart that it wasn’t the Milky Way he had seen. There were three white paths instead, each a similar looking road to the Milky Way, connecting together before becoming a fork in the road. This wasn’t their galaxy, but Lance could admit to its own beauty even if it made him withdraw a little more.

Surprisingly, it had been Keith to break the silence. “I miss water, like the ocean. ” Keith hummed.

Lance turned his head to Keith while he scoffed. “I did too. But then killer mermaids tried feed us to this brainwashing dragon creature. And then I was kidnapped and had this allergic reaction to this helmet jellyfish thing. It was weird. But from it I no longer miss the ocean.”

Lance didn’t admit to his exaggerated lie. He missed it all: The high winds that came from living near the charting waters, the sounds of waves at night outside his bedroom window. Surfing during the day before the storms approached at night. He missed it so much his heart ached, but it ached a little less when he didn’t say so out loud.

“I still miss the ocean.”

Lance side eyed Keith and said with a playful wink, “Yeah, well, I miss the sun.” It was Keith’s turn to scoff. “Oh yeah, that stupid thing. Blaring it’s stupid heat rays and burning our skin alive. I hate the sun. 

“Hey! The sun is fantastic! No one would be alive if it weren’t for the the sun!” Lance started out, arms thrown out theatrically to prove his point.

Lance could be overdramatic, but it seemed to be helping Keith, if the blush on his cheeks were anything to go by.

Lance’s heart fluttered a little.

“Same goes for water!” Keith argued back a little more quietly. “Thank god there’s rain for when droughts happen, you know, that thing that happens with extended sunlight?" 

“Yeah, whatever, desert boy” Silence crashed over them once again, neither really wanting to debate a useless topic. 

“… I still wish I could see Sparky.” Lance confessed.

Keith nodded. “What kind of dog was he?” He asked, hugging his legs tightly as he turned to Lance. He seemed flustered as he rocked on his heels like a child, not quite listening to Lance’s every word but wanting to. That much was clear. 

“He was a mutt.” Lance started, turning back to the map. “A crossbreed with a Blue Merle Collie, German Shepard and Golden Retriever. But he had longer hair so I think there was something else too.” 

“If he was a mutt, how do you know exactly what he was?” 

“We rescued him from a puppy mill. His Mom was a Blue Merle and Retriever cross, the Dad was a German Shepard mix.” 

“Wow,” Keith admitted. “He must have been big then.”

Lance made a face and gestured a so-so movement, shaking his head. “He came to my thigh, so medium height. He wasn’t huge, but he wasn’t a princess dog either.”

“A princess dog?”

“Oh, you know, the type of dog that rich girls love to carry around in their bags? Moe for the aesthetic than for a loyal companion. 

“That sounds judgmental.” Keith quirked at Lance, chin resting on top of his knees. “Dogs or any animal of all sizes should be loved, just because those ones might be the popular pick right now doesn’t make them a bad pet.”

“Yah, but they’re so loud, and high pitched, and useless, and so princessy. We took care of this princess dog one time. It was my sister’s friend, and we had to dress her up every time we went outside for a walk, or at night before going to bed. She was too cold! And we lived in Cuba! That dog wouldn’t survive a normal life, and it definitely wouldn’t defend me against an intruder like Sparky would.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “But small dogs still care about you and are still loyal. So, no matter what you say, I still think small and big dogs are equal.” Keith concluded.

“That’s just because you’ve never owned one! Wait-wait have you? Er, wait, no-“ Shit, rule no.1 of never asking about Keith’s apparently devastating past forgotten, shit, nope, oops, that can of worms just exploded, fuck-

“I never owned one, but one of my first foster care homes had an elderly dog shelter. It was cool.”

Lance’s head whipped up at that. There was a lot of information in that sentence. _Foster home?_ _First? Were there multiple?_ But what Lance decided to focus on in that sentence was, “They owned an elderly dog shelter?!”

Keith nodded cooley, face remaining slightly expressionless. He turned away from Lance, looking back out the window. His hair was getting longer, wrapped in neat ponytail, Lance noticed. His bangs fell gracefully over his face, wrapping around his eyes with an elegance that Lance didn’t want to admit was there.

“Yeah. They had land outside of the city at the time, and opened a non-profit dog shelter, for older dogs. They were cool.”

“You got to play with a bunch of older dogs everyday?!” Lance continued on. He couldn’t imagine it. That was just Lance’s number one dream as a child! Well, number one right after flying an aircraft in space, and then becoming famous. But that goal was apparently achieved, now he jut needed the fame and then dog shelter and his childhood goals would be complete.

“Mhm,” Keith nodded. “And I took them for walks, and bathed them, and picked up their poop. Great time for the year and a half it lasted, I suppose.”

“How old were you at that point?” Lance decided to pop the question, not particularly wanting this conversation to end. They both seemed to be enjoying the steady noise.

Keith looked up in thought. “I think I was 8 by that point. It was one of the longer foster homes I had,” He confessed, but stopped himself short from giving away more information. He sat up a little bit straighter, blush extending over his face from talking about himself.

“I remember when I was younger, there was an animal shelter right around my house that my Mom and Abuela volunteered at.” Lance spoke indignantly, forcing Keith to focus on Lance rather than what he had just said.

“They always said that we didn’t have much in the name of physical things, but we always had our kindness, and that was the best gift of all. We could always offer that kindness to the lesser fortunate, so I guess that’s why they always spent their time there. I did too, every Tuesday ad Thursday after school I got to play with the kittens, and reptiles, and hamsters. I never got to play with the birds though, the birds hated me. They always flew at me and tried to rip my face off with their giant claws.” Lance made claw shapes with his fingers, hissing at the air in front of his face as he told his story.

As stated previously, Lance was a very theatrical man.

Keith snorted. Lance ignored.

“My little brother Sebastian always laughed at me for that one. Jokes on him though, Sparky loved me more.”

Keith listened with obvious content, a smaller smile tugging at his drained expression.

The two fell into another silence, conversation about past pets and animals long gone, fading into the stars.

Lance, never having turned away from Keith, really looked at him. Stared him down would be another term, but Lance preferred ‘taking him all in’, and frankly, the other paladin looked like shit. 

“Have you slept recently?” He asked obnoxiously. “I know you just got out of training,” Keith eyebrows quirked, so Lance pointed to his hair, “Your bangs are still dripping water from your shower, dude. Don’t you know how to take care of yourself?” Lance teased half-heartedly. 

“Maybe you should go rest up. We’re all meeting for dinner soon, and I know Hunk is going to want us all there to explain to Shiro what happened.”

“Shiro?!” Keith all but yelled.

“Oh yeah.” Lance confessed casually. “We thought you were sleeping, but I guess you were training. Shiro’s out of the pod now but he’s not 100% percent yet. So he’s just sleeping until dinner for now, but after that we’re going to tell him what happened. He doesn’t seem to remember anything after landing on that planet…” Lance quickly looked down, not wanting to see the guilt clouding over Keith.

“Oh, good riddance then…” Keith staggered onto his feet, waving towards Lance, gesturing that he was going to leave.

“Where are you going?” Lance questioned.

“Uhm,” Keith blushed, grabbing his arm and looking down rather bashfully. Lance admitted, with the wet hair and embarrassed look, he could see why his peers and even instructors at he garrison had called the boy attractive. Logically, anyway, Lance could admit that, not on a personal level, of course.

“You’re going to go check on Shiro, aren’t you?” Lance asked.

Keith looked up from under his bangs before nodding.

Lance hummed. “Just don’t wake him up, okay? Or else you’ll have an angry Allura to deal with,” he joked. But honestly, at the state that Shiro was in, Lance knew how Allura would react if any of the paladins woke him up, not just Keith. The poor guy would probably be hung from his feet at her wrath if he did so.

An angry Allura wasn’t something pleasant to deal with, and one of the top 10 things Lance never wanted to deal personally with again.

“You do you buddy!” He called out, watching Keith’s fading form head towards the door. A question immediately buzzed into Lances mind, jarring his thoughts.

He quickly turned around and called out to the red Paladin.

“Oh, hey Keith?!”

Keith turned back, expression soft.

“Did these foster parents of yours ever eat the elderly dogs?”

“What the fuck- Lance!?! What kind of foster parents do you think I lived with?!” Ahh, there it was! Good ole’ Keithy-boy was back.

“Just wondering, worrying for Sparky’s sake. No thanks to Hunk. Go hold Shiro’s hand for me and see you at dinner!” Lance yelled back, turning back to watching the stars of the galaxy.

He heard Keith gawk over his inane question, before giving up with a scowl and walking away, semi stomping his feet.

Lance couldn’t help but laugh, even if he was starting to become mildly jealous of Shiro’s position.

 

* * *

 

Keith had to admit that the sound was getting persistent. Every time it switched, it would slowly fade into background noise that Keith could eventually ignore. But that sometimes took hours before he could concentrate normally again. And once he could ignore it, it seemed to sense what happened and would switch the tone. Keith really did begin to fear he was losing it. Maybe Haggar’s magic dripped from Shiro’s bleeding wound into Keith when Keith had previously switched his captain’s bandages.

Something, however, told him that was untrue.

Currently, the noise sounded like a muttering. It reminded Keith of sleeping back in the orphanage when he was younger. He never had a room to himself, and even when his roommates were asleep, the walls were so thin that he could hear others talking around him behind the layers of plaster. That’s what the noise sounded like currently. Someone muttering to themselves behind a wall, further away. Keith figured that it was mimicking someone who was speaking aloud. He could hear it faintly, yet he just couldn’t pick up the actual words being said. 

It was fucked.

Keith sat beside Shiro’s bedside on a hard stool. His hand was holding Shiro’s own, needing to feel the physical contact, needing to see the rise and fall of Shiro’s chest, needing to see that he was still here and alive.

This wasn’t a dream, even if that annoying sound was starting to taunt Keith into believing he was asleep.

Keith hadn’t moved an inch, fearful he would wake the other. But if Keith was being honest, his own eyes were wanting to fall shut. His shoulders fell forward tiredly and his head hurt.

He wanted sleep, but he couldn’t do that to his friends. He had to remain focused, strong when the others needed him for support. Keith already fucked up by not being there for Shiro when he got out of the pod, but dammit he could be here when he woke up this time!

The murmuring was starting to get a little louder, creeping a little closer. Keith felt the room fall in temperature. He shivered and noticed Shiro do the same. Shaking his head, he pulled the covers over Shiro just a little higher and over his exposed hand, tucking it into his side.

Also, his chin looked like it was getting cold.

Keith sat back down, placing his hand over Shiro’s arm from the blanket’s top. Enough with this nonsense, Keith concentrated. He shouldn’t be worrying about his own little head issue when Shiro was clearly suffering. How selfish was Keith being?

“ _Ikanseyu,Ikanseyu, Ikanseyu.._ ’ The slurred voice grew louder. They spoke too quickly for Keith to understand but they were there, the presence growing along with it.

Falling into the habit of using his instincts, Keith stayed still in the middle of the darkened room. He wouldn’t even allow himself to blink, and instead concentrated on Shiro’s raspy breathing.

“ _Ikanseyuikanseyuikansey u’_. The words were so jumbled and so quick and so persistant and so close. They sounded like an actual voice now, wavering around him. It was as if someone was speaking to Keith, as if they were in the same room as him, as if they were standing just behind him.

“ _Ikanseyuikanseyuikansey u_’

Keith gulped.

_ Look. Behind. You _

Keith anxiously closed his eyes.

_ Look. Behind. You _

The hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up straight _._

_ Someone is standing right behind you. _

No,

_ They’re going to hurt you. _

No, this wasn’t happening,

_ Look. _

This wasn’t happening. 

_ Behind. _

No-

_ You! _

“NOO!” Keith screamed out wildly.

The voice turned into a shrill and vehement screech as he disobeyed its order. It screamed like angered car breaks, the twist of metal against metal as they collided into one. Keith felt his heart near shatter to his core at the exploding sound. The room turned into a blasting wave of cold as wind shot through him.

In the moment between screaming and silence, he swore he felt their cold breath on his neck.

Keith shook, his heart making its way to jackrabbit levels of speed. A harsh breath escaped his lips, taken away when he felt the tip of a phantom nail, slowly dragging down his protruding spine.

He launched forward, grabbing his head. “No!”

“Keith?”

The sound stopped, the touch stopped, the room’s temperature changed slowly back to normal. With heat reentering his body, Keith felt himself come back, heart still visibly pounding.

His hands were on his head, elbows placed on his knees. He was visibly shaking, but, but-

“Keith?” Shiro’s voiced coughed from above. Graying blue eyes shot forward, recognizing the blearily awake Shiro. He was breathing heavily as he tried to move underneath the three layers of duvets on top of him.

Keith realized that he may have gone a little too far with his medical regime this time…

“Shiro! You’re okay!” He yelled out a little unsteadily, the scream still echoing behind him. His shaky hands shot forward again, grabbing Shiro’s arm where it was rubbing against his eye.

“Are you hurt? Are you okay? Do you need anything? How do you feel?”

“Keith, come on buddy, slow down,” Shiro coughed, using his elbow to slowly rise his up. Keith noticed his pained position and pulled back one of the tucked in duvets. He prompted Shiro up against the fluffed up pillows, sturdy against the wall.

The older boy seemed to sense Keith’s obvious concern. He offered a small smile. “I’m alright, I always am right?”

Keith grumbled out. Shiro always _acted_ alright, but that didn’t mean he _was_ alright. Those were two _very_ different things. 

Just as Keith was going to state that fact aloud, the door opened with a _swoosh_ , Keith swiftly turned with a flick of his ponytail. From his hardened seat he set his eyes upon the frantic looking Lance and Allura, hunkering breathlessly at the entrance. 

“You’re alright?” Lance screeched as though he upset. He was panting loudly, as though he had run a half marathon.

“Oh thank god you’re okay,” Allura sighed shakily, accent think from running to hard. She stood up straight, hand patting down her hair. “We heard someone scream, we thought it was you, Shiro.” She explained casually.

Keith noted Lance’s side eyed glare towards him at Allura’s statement, which Keith couldn’t quite understand. But Lance seemed to keep his words to himself, and Keith was thankful. He really didn’t want to talk about anything quite yet. And from the way he was staring, Keith could only guess he disagreed with Allura over who had voiced the scream.

“Anywho, false alarm!” Allura chirped, her hands slapping together proudly. She walked happily towards Shiro’s bedside. “How are you feeling?”

“Better now after resting.” Shiro stated stoically, hands fitting together, his shoulders straightening back. He was such a military guy that Keith almost wanted to gag at his actions.

“And thank you, again.” Shiro spoke to everyone while eyes lingered over Keith, who refused to look back at him while engaged in a sort of silent war with Lance.

The voice had re-entered Keith’s field of hearing, this time sounding like a high pitched and barely there ringing. But it was too far away and quiet for Keith to take seriously.

Keith tried ignore it and turned to look back at Shiro. “Are you really feeling better, though? We can go get some medicine from Coran or something-” he asked with agitation.

“Keith, I’m fine, honestly. Don’t make yourself sick worrying over me.” Shiro’s voice sounded tight and raw, from the many days of not using it. Keith offered a cup of water from his bedside, which Shiro did take thankfully.

Allura placed her hand over Shiro’s head, frowning a little as he drank his water.

“Well, you are still warm, but less so which is good. However, I believe you should still rest after we get some food into you. I think Hunk should have the meal prepared by now, anyways.”

She turned to Lance, nodding her head towards the invalid who was shakily trying to rise to his own feet from underneath the many covers.

“Shiro!” Keith gasped jumping up to help.

“Ugh, fine.” Lance stated loudly. He moved to take Shiro’s other hand, steadying him as he stood. “To the evil space food it is.” Lance declared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I will admit I had trouble with this chapter. It's still just the beginning and that can be hard, detailing the world and whats happened. It's the slower part, but things start picking up soon. For now, I just reallllly wanted more Lance and Keith interaction, but I find dialogue can be difficult. So hopefully it was alright and similair to their characters, and hopefully not boring! haha :)
> 
> Also, Lance is fucking awesome to write for. I mean I love my main boo Keith, he's just so adorable, but Lance is so fun!!  
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed it, and until next time! :D


	3. What have I become (my dearest friend)

 

Almost a week had past since Shiro had woken up, and Keith wasn’t doing much better. They were still traveling in space, and that voice had been gradually driving Keith insane. He was admitting it.

Well, to himself, at least. The others still had yet to know. 

Lance seemed to have some clue that something was off though. The other day the voice had appeared in faint murmurs and quiet static sobs and gasping moans. If someone was crying behind him through the static of a radio, that is what Keith heard. Heavy, dying, haggard breathes and pained moans were drawn into his ear, the actual warm breath physically running down his neck. It seemed to sense that this triggered Keith the most, and had since kept it up. It was arguably and probably the most terrifying it had appeared so far.

Keith had been sitting trying to eat the goo but could barely chew a single fork full, the voice’s cries churning his stomach. Lance had tried talking to him, but the desperate moans grew over Lance’s own voice this time, and Keith couldn’t grasp much of the real verbal conversation. Angered and irritated, he had left, just as he had every dinner and breakfast so far since returning from that stupid planet. Shiro and Lance had tried calling out to him, Hunk inviting him to help make dinner, but Keith only felt more on edge. What if being close to him made them hear the noise too? Keith couldn’t allow that! He could at least stick it out on his own if needed.

This seemed to smack Keith back in the face, though, if what he overheard at breakfast earlier on was anything to go by.

After another fitful night of no sleep, the voice statically nagging him from the depths of sweet sweet sleep induced unconsciousness, Keith had taken to training. For over four hours. In the middle of the night. Again.

He sluggishly made his way to the dining hall for morning breakfast, knowing he would be the last one to arrive if his space watch was anything to go by. His stomach growled, and he actually felt himself look forward to the space goo, even if he could only choke down a few spoon fulls.

With long strides he could feel his muscles tightening into knots, alongside a few new bruises from having his ass handed to him by a level three gladiator stimulation. Keith was getting worse from his lack of sleep. At this point, he worried that he would barely be able to keep his hold on Voltron’s bond if needed. Luckily for him, his lion was still out of commission for him to test this theory.

“Guys you don’t understand!” Keith heard Lance shout from down the hallway. With a slightly keen interest, Keith eavesdropped with the best of his abilities. Lance’s voice echoed through the corridor, making it all too easy.

“Lance, I realize your concern-“

“But something isn’t right, Shiro!” Lance argued frantically, seemingly behind a mouth full of goo. Keith almost turned the corner, going to enter the dining room when he heard, “Something is going on with Keith. Why am I the only one noticing it?”

Keith immediately hesitated, turning his back against the outer wall while his head tilted towards the door. Even as the moaning remained hovering around him like an aura, Keith could listen in on what was being said if he concentrated enough.

“You’re not the only one, Lance, trust me.” Shiro spoke, trying to ease Lance’s concern. “But this is Keith, if something is seriously wrong, he’ll come to us when he’s ready. You can’t push him.”

“But he’s not eating, he’s not sleeping-“ 

“And how would you know he’s not sleeping?” Pidge piped up, a hint of teasing in her voice. 

“Because he’s always training!” Lance yelled over her with a flustered frustration. Keith could just imagine him, swaying with flinging arms to dramatically make his point. “When we’re eating he’s training, when we’re talking he’s training, when we’re sleeping he’s training.” 

“But how do you know this, Lance? You’re not always there to witness it, especially at night.” Allura questioned, needing further evidence before picking her battles. She had also given Keith concerned looks, so she seemed to agree with Lance but only hesitated until more evidence was found.

“Because _I_ can’t sleep!” Lance exclaimed with exasperation. “So when I wake up I walk around until I’m tired and-“

Keith could just see the gears moving behind Allura’s eyes at this response. “Wait, Lance, why haven’t you said this to anyone?” She quickly questioned, like a mother pestering her kids. 

“Because I just did?” 

“No- no, not now but before?” 

“Because I’m not the issue here? Keith is?” Lance said with such an honesty that it hurt Keith to hear. Did Lance think he was less important or something? He wasn’t though, never had been. Keith didn’t like that train of thought, and Lance needed his rest just as much as the next person. Keith felt a small sting of sympathy for the other boy.

He heard the voice gasp, a deep and shaky inhale, Keith readying himself for the deeper sounds. _‘You’re making things worse.’_ It spoke slowly, still behind a hindering static and rasp.

“No Lance, this is still an issue. Is there something you’re needing to talk about or needing to express?” Allura asked quickly. “Or is this perhaps some developing human hormones that I personally don’t understand?” 

“Yeah, it's hormones alright”. Pidge pointed out, Keith hearing her tap away on her computer at the table.

“Guys! The problem here is not me!” Lance declared, talking faster as his voice pitched up in tone. He was obviously agitated, and if his concern hadn’t been over Keith, the Red Paladin would have laughed at it all, maybe even joined in. 

 _‘It’d be easier if you just left.’_ It taunted cruelly, a feeling of cold air brushing past him.

“It’s Keith. The guy is going to train himself into an early grave by the looks of things, why am I-“

_ ‘Leave, for them.’ _

Keith turned away, head held low as he walked back to his sleeping quarters. The voice picked up into a normal tone, overtaking over his thoughts. The world turned the familiar ice cold that Keith was starting to get used to. Almost welcoming it by now.

He suddenly didn’t feel so hungry anymore.

 

* * *

 

It was later that same day when Shiro decided he was no longer on bed rest, and thus training needed to happen. As well, thanks to Pidge and Hunk, their suits of armour had all been fixed up by this point.

The lions had not.

“Okay team!” Shiro clapped his hands together. Miraculously, all of the paladins sat together in a circle less than thrilled. The rec room froze their asses off, something Lance was less than happy about at this time at night. He and Pidge had tried to tap into the Castle’s system to change the temperature in the early days, but couldn’t due to Altean temperature preferences or survival needs or some shit like that.

“Tomorrow we start training again, now get to bed. We need to have all of our energy back to form Voltron!”

Shiro eyed Keith warily, directing the statement specifically at him. Keith, still slumped forward and eyes tired from the voice’s cruel yet honest words, rolled his eyes lazily at the comment and exhaled his angst loudly. He laid on the couch, slowly drifting away as his body leaned against Lance. The taller boy had perched himself beside Keith after himself and Shiro had forcefully torn him from his bed, saying something about a needed Paladin meeting. They dragged him here, so the least the other boy could do was allow Keith to lean on him.

And so far, the other boy wasn’t saying a word, therefore Keith didn’t move. Easy as that. 

The training Shiro had mentioned somewhat angered Keith. Apparently he and Allura decided that the Paladins had rested long enough, and training needed to get back on their register. Voltron needed be able to form to fight Zarkon, and they couldn’t do that if they never moved nor exercised. 

Therefore, Shiro was implementing at least 2 hours of training a day for everyone (Pidge groaned at this), no more and no less (Keith groaned at this), which Shiro also decided to incorporate the ‘oh-so-fun-team-bonding-sessions’ into (they all groaned at this).

Keith wasn’t having it. He hadn’t slept at all last night, or the night before, or the night before that. He was honestly surprised they could even get him out of bed for this stupid meeting. Needless to say, Keith wasn’t exactly looking forward to the team bonding practices, nor the idea of allowing the others into his mind in his current state.

If Keith was being truthful, it was only because the voice had started to form words. They weren’t typically English, some English sentences caught him off guard every now and then, becoming more frequent, but Keith was grasping that overall it was speaking in a different dialect all together. The words he could now comprehend were becoming similar, and by the way the presence lingered over Keith’s shoulders most days, the voice wasn’t saying anything supportive.

And from it all, Keith felt drained, his energy seemingly seeping away. 

He knew his eyes were blood shot and that his hair was affray. He’d kept it in a ponytail today, hoping to hide that yet another aspect of Keith was falling apart. He preferred it kept down since it hid his face more, but it had just been too unruly that Keith gave up even trying to brush it out.

Simple every day tasks were all of a sudden innumerably much harder, the exhaustion he felt not at all like a ‘I didn’t sleep last night’ tired, but more of a ‘my bones feel too heavy for me to move today’ tired, like a dead weight over top of him. 

He didn’t know if he could handle the voice on his own much longer if this kept up. But how do you just casually bring up in conversation that you’re hearing voices, and ones that are definitely not saying nice things. It was having effects on Keith, and therefore it affected the other Paladins.

His sleep deprived ways were also making Keith angry, shockingly lashing out when he otherwise wouldn’t have. This only made him feel even shittier about the situation. Placing guilt from screaming at Pidge, Hunk, or Lance over something stupid?? It was just the worst.

He had yelled particularly heartless words at Lance when the other accidently knocked into his foot the other day. Keith felt callous and cold-blooded from his own astonished treatment of his friends, especially Lance. And Lance had looked so hurt, like a kicked puppy that it made Keith become more withdrawn. He wanted to become a hermit. He knew that if he stayed away, he wouldn’t lash out, he wouldn’t get angry for no apparent reason, and he wouldn’t feel bad when they had to deal with him like he was their problem. 

They shouldn’t have to deal with his problems.

_The sound moaned wearily nearby, breathes in short wheezes._

“ _Uhh, uhhh, uhh- ohh, hoohh, ohh_ “ It breathed through chokes in his ear. It seemed to clear its voice, wetting its lips. It did this when it would try to form longer sentences in his own native tongue as of late.

He wouldn’t hurt them, and he wouldn’t have to be hurt in return.

_Come to me._

He wouldn’t have to feel anymore, and wasn’t that just the most lovely thought?

_Come to me._

He could just go back to being alone. No one to depend on or needing him to lean on. No one who would have to deal with his shitty attitude, and wasn’t that really for the best?

_ I know what can help you. _

Keith suppressed the fact that the loneliness now felt like a drowning sensation, as though he was being pulled into the depths of the ocean with no way out. Some days Keith could barely get out of bed, just not thinking right, this similar feeling taking over his body.

_ Just take my hand, child. _

Those were the days when the voice was the loudest. It would sit at the edge of his bed, whispering words of a lullaby to him. The phantom hands ghosting over and yet never touching him. He wasn’t as scared by then.

_And I’ll take you someplace ,_

It could still be annoying, but on the worst days when his body was just too heavy to move, and sleep just wasn’t coming, the presence would lift him away almost, leaving him in a drugged daze that would make the day go by quicker. Helping him.

_ Where, _

It reminded Keith of one of his past foster parents, neglectful and mean, having an attitude and lifestyle he wished to never adopt. But here he was.

_ You won’t, _

He could almost say he understood what Mrs. Carlington was going through now, why she turned to the euphoric drugs. Laying in her bed all day.

_ Have, _

He wanted that escape.

_ To, _

He needed that escape. 

_Feel._

A loud snore drew Keith away from the state, and when he opened his eyes, the voice was nearly gone. He noticed instantly that he had fallen asleep on top Lance in the late night darkness. The other had a hand brushing past his back, the other hanging fitfully from the couch, touching the floor. He was snoring from above, mouth wide and obnoxious. Lance had fallen asleep on his back, his head resting on the armrest. Keith had fallen with him, having both been sitting up right when the meeting was occurring. 

Keith had his head pillowed against Lances lean stomach. Not the softest padding but Keith had dealt with worse.

His own hands gripped Lance’s shirt, holding onto his waist like a child hiding behind a pillow. He snuggled into the heat, the rise and fall and soft snore taking away the presence, the voice screaming as it was dragged away down the hall.

Being awake, Keith could visualize the scene; the voice couldn’t get to him here.

Keith maneuvered his body up a bit more, trying to get more comfortable on Lance’s chest rather than his stomach. He decided they would stay here tonight, too tired to move elsewhere.

The slight movement stirred the sleeping fellow, who mumbled something incoherent before turning his head the opposite direction. The hand that was brushing gently against his back moved up to Keith’s head, scratching his hair before resting over top of it.

Here, being with Lance, Keith discarded all prior thoughts from his system, feeling more of himself flow back into him. It wasn’t much, but it was more than it had been for the last few days.

The voice was turning him, that much Keith figured out. That entire waver of thinking, going down memory lane, rehearsing bad memories or possible failures never left Keith feeling well. He typically repressed that mindset all together. And albeit not the healthiest of methods, it had gotten Keith safely away from some of the worse foster care homes without too many scars.

And he knew now that he needed to kick himself out of this rut. He needed to get rid of the voice.

He just needed to figure out how.

 

* * *

 

During training the next day the team stood in a circle, armoured and ready to go.

Lance tried to get out of it due to having a stiff neck from helping his fellow Paladin sleep, (‘But he slept, Shiro, he slept! I helped! I should at least be given some sort of award…) but Shiro was having none of it. If his wound from Haggar still wasn’t fully healed, then Lance could suffer with a mildly inconveniencing neck cramp during training. Helping his fellow Paladins, while a heroic cause, was a mute reason.

They placed the fighting gladiator on level three to begin with, quickly moving forward and defeating it, beginning the next match.

The level four stimulation was suddenly much harder for some odd reason. It struck at Keith first, who easily dodged the incoming sword and jumped over it. It swung again and this time Keith ducked, keeping low. He swayed around it, kicking it’s back as Pidge took a running dive at the droid. Her bayard had roped around its feet, yet it quickly jumped out of harms way and proceeded to run for the next target. Lance and Hunk stayed side by side as the stimulation’s sword moved to offence and tried to strike at all sides with a disturbing speed. It kept everyone on their toes as it made its rounds. It launched inaudibly at Shiro who barely missed the dodge, and Keith barrel rolled to where he was, using his bayard to counter the attack, saving Shiro. After that it was just Keith and the simulation, knocking each others’ swords like fencers. Keith felt sweat drip down his neck. Sway, sway, counter, attack, left foot, right foot, left, left, right, attack. Their swords hit in the air with a loud clash, Keith instantly pulling back and jumping aside, avoiding the oncoming slice.

His heart burned from inside his chest, the stimulation not allowing for any breathers as it continued its rampage. Keith guessed it was from the lack of sleep and probable malnutrition as to why this was so much more difficult, but he didn’t give up. He posed a swing with his dominant arm, but a pain ambushed his head suddenly, forcing Keith to stutter on his feet from the impeding disorientation. He was dizzy as his vision tilted, just barely noticing the bot running towards him from behind his one opened eye. The stimulation had moved beside him, it’s sword directly meeting with Keith’s ribs and definitely bruising them when Keith noticed he suddenly was no longer one with the ground. 

Keith flew back, spine landing and dragging against the floor, legs high in the air as his neck seemed to break itself like a car coming to a sudden stop. He groaned and held his head. The ache was still there and definitely becoming worse as time past. He felt nauseous, and it was Allura’s and Coran’s crossed arms and worried looks from the observation deck that forced Keith back on his feet. He couldn’t allow himself to fall to his weakness. Goddammit, the stimulation wasn’t taking him down today. He took a step forward to where his fellow co-pilots continued to fight on the arena.

_Come to me._

Keith stopped, foot as heavy as lead and unable to move when the voice came back, this time as sultry as ever. He tried to keep an eye on the drone, noticing Lance’s actions: steady, calm and calculating as he moved forward, defending and saving Hunk from the drawn out sword.

_ They don’t need you. _

Keith stopped watching, his vision losing sight of the attacking drone and his friend. Keith felt his own breath leave him as the words spoke. He wasn’t breathing, he couldn’t breath. He tried to inhale, but it only erupted in a wheezing cough.

_ I have what you need. _

Keith was starting to have a panic attack. His head fell forward when his chest tightened painfully, hands on his knees as he tried to calm his racing heart, calm his stricken panic. His head flashed a horrible pain with each rapid heartbeat. He moaned out, hating that he couldn’t do more than make a minor noise.

_ Come to me. _

His dagger began to glow from its sheath as Keith began to lose grip on himself, his reality fading. 

The voice was talking nonstop, blowing around him like a wind. Keith felt like he had twenty people surrounding him, yelling obscenities at him, telling him to come with them. He looked in each direction, his stance changing wildly as he tried to locate their exact position. But it was all around and there was no one there.

It wasn’t real.

_ I can make you feel the way you want. _

Keith blinked wen he tried to steady himself on two feet. He turned when someone called out to him, seeing the bot running straight for him, sword ready to hit. He defended immediately, jumping and kicking the bot away. The bot faltered back before being struck in the back by Lance. Keith stumbled away to the corner, watching the bot fight his teammates through his disappearing vision. 

He could just watch. He should just watch.

Keith huffed out, breathing heavily.

_ Just let yourself go. _

He couldn’t handle this. He couldn’t handle. ‘ _Just please, god shut up! Leave me alone!’_

A real blood curdling scream occurred near him, tearing him away from his physically painful thoughts. Someone was hurt, one of his friends were hurt from training. They were in pain. Did the bot strike someone?! The shock and sound of the anguished screamed had Keith whipping his head around. It was more real than the voice, it had to have happened in reality. It was too blatant not too.

But, just like every time before, no one was there. It was just the doors that lead back to the Castle. This wasn’t.-

Oh shit. 

The voice was changing, and Keith could no longer differentiate it as a ‘the voice’ to someone in reality speaking to him.

“Keith!” Was that the voice or someone else? He couldn’t tell.

“Keith, watch out!”

Who was actually saying his name?

“Hey!!”

Pain erupted in his back, and Keith shot forward. The bot had kicked him so hard that he flew over the training grounds once more. He couldn’t break his fall, and instead landed on the ground in skidded rolls and turns. 

He groaned, trying to open his eyes as the bot continued to walk over to him. It hovered over his curled in and dazed form, sword raising high in the air, preparing itself for the hit.

It went for the strike.

“End training sequence!” Lance had immediately shouted in alarm. The bot automatically stilled and crimpled to a sad pile on the ground, sword barely inches from Keith’s sweating and near convulsing body. It fell in front of him, a heap of non-sentient metal that couldn’t do actual real damage.

“What was that?!” Lance anxiously stated his thoughts aloud. He threw his bayard to the ground, running over to Keith. 

“Fuck it, this isn’t happening anymore. Keith, I don’t care but you’re telling us what’s going on.” Lance slid on his knees, grabbing onto Keith’s clothed shoulders, literally trying to shake some sense into him while the other remained like a ragdoll on the floor.

Shiro walked behind, clutching Lance’s shoulder to stop him from hurting the other.

He too fell to his knees over Keith’s huddled body.

“I agree with Lance, Keith. I’m sorry, but something is happening, isn’t it?" 

Keith, huffing and shaking like a leaf on the ground, turned his head away.

“It’s nothing.” He admitted into his shoulder.

Lance looked completely worn out by this response, eyebrows rising. He shot Shiro a look of concern, before turning back to Keith. “That’s bullshit Keith, and you know it. That was a level 6 bot. You’ve taken bots out twice that size on your own at night!”

“I have it under control,” Keith choked out dejectedly. That was a level 6? Keith thought they had only been on level 4….

“Yeah, looks like you’ve really got a good handle on it.” Lance argued. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, an angered exhale exiting his raw lips. “You’ve lost weight, you aren’t eating. Hell, some days I don’t think you even leave your room.”

“Lance,” Hunk tried to interject, but was completely obliterated from his friends loud rant.

“And the way you looked right then? You were scared out of your mind! I’ve never seen someone turn around so fast in fear.”

“Lance!” Hunk tried again, hands up trying to calm the rising argument. He hated it when people fought, reminding him of his parents’ arguments late at night at home. Helpless, he couldn’t do anything then, either.

“No, I’m not shutting up, Hunk. Not this time. Someone has to knock some sense into him. And if has to be me then fine!” 

Keith turned himself around, perching himself up on his elbows, feeling the blood prickling down his cheeks from the skid he just experienced. Lance looked fretful. Everyone looked worried. Beyond worried, and Keith was the one to put that expression on their faces. 

“Something’s going on, Keith, and you’re going to tell us what it is.”

Keith turned away. And when he didn’t say anything, Lance scooted closer. “Please?”

“This isn’t your problem.” Keith declared with some anger, more at himself for making the others worry than anything.

“It isn’t my- of course its my problem! You being apart of Voltron makes it my problem!”

“Just shut up, Lance.” Keith growled out as he stood up unsteadily, voice continuing to moan over the other’s words through flashes of heated pain. Lance reached out, ready to grab the other if he just tumbled back down. Keith hadn’t, but Lance didn’t move away. In fact, he stepped closer.

“No, not until you get it through your thick skull that we care about you. You’re our friend, that’s why we want to know. God damnit, Keith, why won’t you just trust us enough to admit it!” 

Lance’s voice began to mix with the sounds, forming into one deep, spiritual tone that frightened Keith to listen too. 

“Because its not that easy!” He tried to argue, turning away. He couldn’t look Lance straight in the face when the voice was mixing with his.

“Oh, so there is something wrong!” Lance and the voice said together.

Keith whimpered, but tried to even himself out. He gulped before shouting back, “Of course there is you idiot! Just like you duly noted at breakfast yesterday when you thought I wasn’t there. ‘ _Something’s wrong with Keith’_ , like it’s the newsflash of the century.”

Lance stuttered, shocked that his arguing had actually worked. He drew himself back, placing some space between him and the animalistic Keith.

Hunk took the step forward then, noting how Lance had calmed down and seemed silent in a relevant state of shock. “We’re worried about you okay?” Hunk admitted kindly, while the voice just mocked him from behind, mimicking his words to change the genuine tone. “Just like Lance said, we’re your friends. We care about you and don’t want to see you-“

“We care about you.” They spoke together. Snide, teasing, and all completely surreal.

“Shut up! I never asked for you to worry! You shouldn’t have to worry, no one should have to-

“Keith-”

Keith snarled out with his teeth bared, “Just because you all grew up with big loving families that taught you to understand love doesn’t mean I have to lay all my problems out to you, so just fuck off!”

The others began to pitch in. 

"But its having an effect on Voltron,” Allura mentioned, entering the training area with Coran behind her swiftly.

This was bad.

“Family? Is that what this is about?” Pidge asked simultaneously.

This was exactly what he hadn’t wanted. All attention and eyes on him? Worried? It made Keith nervous.

“Keith we’re not trying to pressure you, but you can talk to us.” Hunk.

They didn’t deserve this.

“Not all families are formed by blood, Keith.” Shiro.

This wasn’t good.

The voice hovered over all of their words, mixing them, changing them. He- Keith couldn’t distinguish it. What the hell was real-

“I- I-I don’t…” Keith gulped, a hand moving over one of his ears, trying to get the voice to stop. He didn’t know how much was just the voice, forcing an imaginary conversation of something Keith had always wanted, a loving family, together, helping each other, into his head. But then there was that low teasing tone, mocking him cruelly from behind.

Lance stepped forward directly in front of Keith, face just inches away from Keith’s own. 

“‘We care about you,” the Cuban boy whispered, squeezing his shoulders.

_ They’re all lying. _

“Shut up! Everyone just shut up!” Keith screamed, echo shooting through the arena. The voice faded with a sullen chuckle that echoed in Keith’s mind. It seemed to have left Keith to fend for himself over the little mental breakdown he just had.

Keith, embarrassed, suddenly felt his body haze over with his need to escape. It was similar to one of those days in bed when he just couldn’t get up. The cold surrounded him, leaving him alone, and empty, and falling. He fell into the dark abyss where nothing could reach him.

For him, the room was quiet.

 

* * *

 

Lance stepped back, more than a little nervous. That cold was back, seeping into his bones. He hated it.

He watched as Keith stopped shaking, stopped gasping for breaths, stopped moving in general. He calmed himself in a silence and stillness that wasn’t right.

“What the fuck,” Lance breathed out, expression wide from the unknown.

Keith’s head then tilted upwards as he turned to eye his co-pilots. The dark blue had changed into enraged slits. “You don’t want to know.” He snickered, grin lopsided. His necks movement reminded Lance of a bird, a vulture eyeing its prey.

His dagger began to shine through the sheathed material behind his back. A stunning blue was beginning to blaze as the animosity and chill flooded further into the training arena.

Keith’s voice was filled with anger and aggression and there was a tone there, a hint of something foreign that wasn’t Keith at all.

Keith’s eyes were overshadowed again, turning into a faded grey that washed completely over. His body’s movements were hintedly lazy.

Lance was becomimg all too familiar with this expression.

He heard Pidge and Shiro step back in fear. Allura even gasped as she started to comprehend what Lance had been suggesting all along. 

The grey sunken eyes were not Keith’s. 

The person in front of them was not Keith.

Lance stepped forward determinedly.

“Keith, snap out of it.”

The raven-haired boy gave a half hearted laugh, quirking an eyebrow. 

“You’re Keith, the pilot of the Red Lion of Voltron.” Lance started, lifting his hands up in a calming gesture. He felt as though he was walking towards a wounded deer, like if he stepped too close the other would run away, that thing still controlling his friend’s body.

“ _What are you doing, child_?” It had asked in a deep yet lulling, motherly tone. “ _Don’t you wish to hear what I have to say_?” The dagger’s glow became a soft aura enveloping Keith, the draft in the room beginning to pick up.

“You’re my friend,” Lance spoke with a choked swallow, ignoring it. He wished he could say something better, more soothing, but Lance just wasn’t good with sentimental words. 

“ _You think he can hear you?”_ It asked with a sultry tone, the edges of its voice echoing deeply through the intense air. Lance noted that the fear was there, though, behind the confidence and short laughs.

“I know he can,” Lance whispered out, staring the other right in his eyes. Lance didn’t even blink, not allowing himself to break the built up connection.

“You were one of the top pilots at the Garrison,” Keith’s eyes narrowed in question.

“And you saved Shiro’s life twice.”

Keith’s mouth began to snarl when his eye and arm twitched, the dagger flashing without its power quickly. 

Lance, noticing the actions, caught onto the little game, smirking back. He could pull Keith back, he knew it. It was already happening.

Every once a while, the original blue would flicker away, and he could see Keith trying to understand his situation. 

“You’ve always beat me at everything.” Keith’s own voice breathed in at that. “and you were so genuine with everything you did at the garrison, it was infuriating.” His eyes blinked, the blue flashing with it. “And you fly like no one I’ve ever seen before. It’s like you were dancing and just knew the movements.” Shoulders fell forward, his foot moved back, trying to steady itself. “I looked up to you, even if I had envied you too much.” Lance admitted.

Keith’s body took another step back, staggering. The dagger flashed in bursts of light and black, the enthusiastic blue fading with energy. Whatever _it_ was must be weak, because it was already beginning to lose control, and Lance hadn’t even done too much. 

“Come on, Keith. Just fly your way back to my voice, I know you can.” 

Keith’s body convulsed as he pitched forward, gagging.

“ _I only ask for you to listen to me!”_ It had screeched, louder than any high pitch squeal Lance had ever heard. Even more so than the pigs near Lance’s home at the animal shelter, especially if one was ever accidentally hurt. Keith’s voice was somewhat present then, and Lance couldn’t help but sigh as he watched the other nearly writhe in pain before him. Keith’s arms were wrapped desperately around his stomach, every muscle contracting from agony.

It was Keith that let out a gasp and gave a shallow cry. 

Lance stood tall. His plan was working, but was not entirely there yet.

“Remember the elderly dogs? You told me about them a while ago, from one of your foster care homes. You said you had a lot of them. And that all dogs every shape and size need care, need a companion to help them out.” Lance just needed to keep talking, bring Keith’s attention fully back to him, allow him something to listen to that wasn’t…. that creature.

“Remember? And you miss the ocean too, which I thought was frankly stupid to say, knowing what I had just been through on that mermaid planet, geeesh, you selfish jerk,” Lance winked with a rough laugh. He lightly touched Keith, hands palming the other’s face, forcing Keith to look at him. 

“But then I was scared, because I didn’t know how my dog was doing. But you were there, and you listened to me. Remember his name, Keith? Come on, buddy, I know you do.”

“S-sp-parky?” Keith whispered still convulsing through dry heaves. The words were more than a little unsure, yet his eyes were fully blue now, back to human.

Keith’s hands latched onto Lance’s arms for support, his nails digging through the armoured material and further into the skin, tearing it painfully. 

Lance gasped and bit his lips. Dammit, but okay, okay, Lance had this! He just had to breathe.

“Yeah,” He gritted out. “Sparky. My blue merle collie and- 

“A-and golden retriever and g-german sh-sheperd mutt?” Keith stammered, finishing Lance’s sentence out loud along side the other boy. His voice was more his own again, the other presence seemingly gone for now. The dagger’s glow faded too, something that Lance would have to keep in mind and question later.

Keith blinked suddenly, the cold gone along with his thoughts. He noticed his position on the training ground. He was huddled on his feet in the corner, the others all standing around him in a protective circle. Their eyes were what struck Keith, a sight that would haunt him. They were panicked, nervous, jittery.

 _Afraid_. 

Lance was the only one who didn’t hold this expression. He remained determined and assertive, making sure he knew Keith was safe before letting his guard down. Lance still hand his hands palming Keith’s face, brushing the flushed skin with his calloused thumbs.

“Welcome back, Mullet.” Lance spoke softly, only for Keith’s own ears.

Noticing small bits of blood dashing down Lance’s arms from his own hands, Keith tore himself away from Lance’s hold. And with a shake of his head, Keith let out a near sob, his voice hitching. He stepped away from the corner, black sliding against the wall as he stumbled away from his worried and silent friends. 

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

He turned and ran out of the room, leaving everybody stunned.

 

* * *

 

 

They all sat around the dining hall’s table. They had plates of food in front of them, but none of them hungry or interested enough to eat. Pidge had wanted to stay on her laptop, researching what the heck from the depths of hell _that_ was. She’d never heard anything or seen anything quite like it before. That voice, that look that had taken over Keith’s body. Pidge speculated that there was something spiritual there, something not at all human but more than just another species; It was something demanding to be listened to, a presence forced to be respected. And with that timbered inflection when it spoke? Pidge just had shivers running down her spine thinking about it.

Keith hadn’t stepped a foot out of his room since the event, and no one was really sure how to approach the subject. Because like Shiro had said, you can’t really force yourself onto Keith and make him talk, that would be counterintuitive. The idiot would just lock himself up further, even if they’d all seen whatever the hell _it_ was. But then again, they had just witnessed something take over his body- that was something they couldn’t just move past. It needed to be analyzed, discussed, discovered, and dealt with. Keith couldn’t keep going on by himself.

Pidge sighed, glancing over to rest of the sullen group.

Shiro was trying to keep his best spirits up, but even Pidge could tell seeing his best friend hurting like that was causing his own worry. And god, if Pidge could guess, Shiro was probably being all self-deprecating, like, ‘o _hh, if I had just tried speaking with him earlier, I saw the signs, I did nothing, it’s all my fault because I’m the leader, take me instead, blah blah blah’_ and all that angsty jazz. 

Lance seemed to be taking a different tone, which had surprised Pidge. Although, if Lance’s hovering around Keith’s door, walking past it and the training hall every five minutes was anything to go by from the past couple of night, Pidge guessed she couldn’t be all that amazed.

He held his hands together, like an elementary school kid showing their teacher they were paying attention during a lesson. His eyebrows were bunched together in concentration, a deep impenetrable look on his contemplating face. He breathed in before pushing out a sigh with shutting eyes. It was really the only sound that had occurred so far during this awkward meal. Hell, even Hunk wasn’t eating and he’d been excited about this Hawaiian replica thing for weeks, just perfecting it earlier on in the day before their training.

“I understand that things are a little intense, but we must communicate, Paladins. We have to talk about what we’re going to do.” Allura spoke up suddenly, spoon picking at the faux-fish thing with disinterest.

Shiro nodded, while Lance only quirked his head to the side.

“What do you mean what we’re going to do?” Lance asked bitterly, not liking that tone of voice.

“Obviously about Keith,” Allura continued on, oblivious to Lance’s stance. “He’s needed to form Voltron, we cannot allow whatever that is to continue on, or else everything will be ruined.”

Lance huffed out. “Yeah, Voltron. Right. Because that’s all you seem to care about.”

Shiro shot his head at Lance who had now sat back in his chair, arms crossed and ready to argue. “I guess if Voltron is the obvious priority, then why not just kick Keith out then, huh? Lets just find a new Paladin for Red! I’m sure your worries will be atoned after that, all the while Keith is off to defend himself and live his life dealing with- with _that_!”

Allura’s eyes glared, but she never spoke up in her defense until Lance made it clear he was finished. “I understand that you’re angry, Lance. But taking out your aggression on me isn’t the way to go about it. As well, as long as Keith lives, no one else may take Red over unless he allows it. It’s only happened once and under very dire circumstances, even before my father’s time. So I do not expect it to happen again.” She spoke clearly and firm.

“I’m worried about Keith too, Lance. And that’s why I’m asking. What do we do? I don’t understand the full workings of a human mind.” Her voice softened, her hand reaching out to touch Lance’s soothingly. He seemed to appreciate the gesture, eyes falling down onto his lap. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sorry Allura, it’s just- that was so creepy. And it just keeps playing over in my mind."

Pidge piped up at this, pushing her food away and becoming engaged in the conversation. “I agree, and I’m trying to remember every detail but it all happened so fast. It could possibly be a mental or psychological break from reality? Stemming from past childhood and familial issues?” She thought out loud, remembering specifically the comments Keith made about family, and Lance’s talk about a foster care home. It was possible that it could just be catching up with him underneath all the stress. He almost saw one of his best friends from Earth die a little over a week ago, and only after facing Zarkon head on. That must be having some effects.

Hunk disagreed, his food left uneaten in front of him. He pushed his plate to the side, offering it to the seemingly starving mice who adorably admired the dish. “I think that maybe from all the stress, Keith was left tired and exhausted. And maybe something caught him, like a cold or a flu, but instead of a sickness, it’s a creature who takes over peoples body through mind control, like _vroom vroom_ and _frrrshh_.” 

Everyone blinked.

“I mean, everything but the sound effects does make sense. Allura, are there any alien species who are known to have the ability to do such a thing?” Shiro asked contemplatively.

Allura touched a thoughtful finger to her chin. “I have a few theories, but I’m not confident in anything yet. I’ll have to go over some of my father’s manuscripts, just to make sure. But I need more time, more information. I can’t suggest anything until further notice. I am sorry, Paladins.” She said solemnly. She noticed Shiro’s shoulders fall at this information. But she hadn’t wanted to offer false hope. There was nothing worse than doing so in her own eyes.

“For now, I vote on calling whatever it is ‘the voice’. Since we don’t know what it is yet and we all heard it speak, that will be our name for it.” Pidge announced scholarly, declaring the name as though it were a countrywide announcement for the cure to cancer.

Lance sighed, following Hunk’s method and pushing his plate towards the middle of the dinner table where the three mice happily scrambled for it. They picked at it mischievously, showing off who got the largest piece. From Lance’s eyes, the pieces all seemed equal, but he didn’t think much of it.

He pushed himself away, feet sliding against the ground as he stood up. Placing his hands into the back of his pants pockets, he walked away needing a breather.

 

* * *

 

Lance was not at all surprised to find himself in front of Keith’s door. He held a tight fist next to the entrance, ready to knock. But he couldn’t bring himself to make that move. After rechecking the training area and anywhere else Keith could be hiding, he found himself standing there, in front of his bedroom door. 

Lance just wanted to make sure that the other guy was okay after that shit occurred. That was okay, right? This was a normal friendly thing to do? 

Clenching his fist, he tried to knock again, only to find himself knocking three inches away from the actual door. Lance growled. ‘ _Fucking coward!_ ’ He thought viciously. He couldn’t even bring himself to see how his friend was doing!

Before he was just about to turn to leave, the door opened with a _swoosh._

“You’re not as suave as you think you are.” Keith said, no emotion etched on his face as he leant tiredly against the doorframe. He was in his sweatpants and a dark tee shirt, and the comfortable clothes shouldn’t have made Lance blush as much as it did. He gulped dramatically, noting Keith’s hovering bedroom eyes.

“Oh, uhm, hi, Keith. Didn’t expect to see you there.” Lance grinned just a little to wide, his cheeks burning at the muscle stretch. Keith didn’t blink, didn’t offer a sarcastic remark. He didn’t do much of anything, really. “Your shadow’s been coming from underneath my door for the last five minutes.” He explained.

“Oh…” Lance stated, embarrassed he’d been caught so horribly. “Well then, I guess… How are you doing?” Lance asked, stringing his hands together while getting himself back to human levels of basic function.

Keith sighed, turning back into his room. The door remained open, and Lance just stood back and watched.

Was, was this a sign to go? Maybe Keith hadn’t wanted to talk, that actually seemed sensible. But then why was the door still open. Castle malfunction? It wouldn’t be the first time. He shakily ran an unsteady hand through his lengthening hair, feeling the small flip at the end of his neck. He began turning, needing to leave. 

“Are you coming in or what?” Keith called out, seeming to sense Lance’s state of confusion. 

The outstretched foot ready to leave immediately turned in the opposite direction, placing itself towards Keith’s darkened room quite comically. He stepped in and walked himself with long strides to the foot of Keith’s bed, where the other was curled up underneath the covers.

“I won’t stay long.” Lance said when a pair of eyes landed on him questioningly. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

Keith pulled the covers further up his body towards his face, still cold from what happened earlier. 

“Obviously you don’t want to talk about it. I don’t know if I would either, but I meant what I said. We care about you, and- and I just want to make sure you’re okay.” 

“I don’t know what there is to talk about.” Keith admitted rather depressed.

Lance lurched in confusion and disbelief. “Your body was just taken over by some unknown force, what do you mean you don’t know what there is to talk about,  _ _gilipollas__?!” 

Keith sat up in anger, covers falling down his chest and into his lap. “I meant what I said, Lance. I don’t know what there is to talk about because I don’t know what’s happening. One second I’m there with you guys, training, and the next I’m not and apparently something has control but now I’m back and everything feels cold, clamby and I cant stop shaking.”

Lance sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing Keith’s hand and holding it, trying to sooth the other as he talked anxiously. Keith was right, Lance could tell by his hand that everything was cold, under a normal temperature that it should be. He rubbed it gently, trying to get some warmth going. 

“Do you remember anything from the training arena? Or no?” He asked cautiously, and Keith offered a side glanced, unsure of how much he should say. The voice was terrorizing Keith, saying that it’d do terrible things to his friends if he slipped up and told anything. 

 _Why even have friends_? It asked. _They’re just trouble. Come to me, I’ll offer the comfort you seek._

“Keith?” Lance called out cautiously, his hand once again grabbing onto his shoulder while the other held his hand inside his own, bringing it towards Lance’s chest.

“I-I”

_ Dare say too much and I’ll have his head. _

Keith shakily breathed, his fingertips subconsciously latching onto Lance’s t-shirt, surrounding it and pulling Lance closer.

“I don’t remember much, though. Like I said, one second we were training and the next, I wasn’t in control. I was still there, like in the room and in my body, but I was shut out. It was like a movie, but I could still feel everything, hear everything. But I couldn’t speak or move. I didn’t have control and I don’t know what happened. Do you know how horrible that is?!”

Lance shook his head, hand rubbing the others skin sadly. “That’s okay, Keith. But nothing triggered it, did it? Nothing happened before it took over? Do you remember that part?”

When Keith said nothing and just continued to look at Lance with wide eyes and a slightly parted mouth, Lance just asked with a nod of his head. “Anything at all?” 

Keith hesitated, but ultimately decided to shake his head slowly, his gut wrenching in pain from so openly lying to someone who was just trying to help. 

He thought back over the scenario, remembering what everyone had said, the kindness, caring, and dare he say love he felt when their words were spoken. He had seen the look in Lance’s eyes. His kind and gentle touches. He had been so determined and reassuring. And it had helped, more than Keith liked to admit.

Lance sighed, look disapproving at Keith’s answer. “You’re sure?” He tried again, offering one last out. 

Keith sucked in a breath, back landing against the wall as he leaned against it. “Positive.”

And there was that disappointed expression again. “Alright, but if you remember anything, I am here to talk, okay? You’re apart of this team too, so no one wants to see you hurt. Especially me, alright?” He barked out.

“Especially you?” Keith gave half-hearted laugh at this, eyebrows quirking upwards while his heart tensed from what Lance had just said.

“Well yeah. I mean, I need someone to argue and bicker with. No one can handle my sass and challenges like you can, sadly. I tried Hunk, but he’s just too passive. The big oaf would never bicker at anything in a day of his life. Shiro never falls for it and I’m kind of terrified of Allura” 

“We’re all terrified of Allura,” Keith smiled. “What about Pidge? I’m sure she’d be good at a battle of wits.”

Lane shuttered at that thought. “Nah, she’d be too good, man. She outmatches me and can turn any one of my arguments against me. So no! I need someone on my level, like you” He called out aggressively, visibly shivering at the thought of himself and Pidge bickering loudly. “Yeah, she’d hand me my ass, and I’m not ready for the kind of humiliation. 

“Yeah, I guess we are evenly mediocre with that kind of thing.” Keith laughed quietly, the tiredness overwhelming as he watched Lance speak with content. “Mediocre?! Me!?Excuse you, Keith. You may be mediocre when it comes to the art of verbal challenges, being so sullen like you are, but I, however, am Lance! I grew up talking and shouting, so mediocre verbalist? Not this guy!”

“I think the word is orator.”

“Ahh, shut up.”

Keith watched the other peruse on his tale about his family and past epic arguments he’d won, but ultimately Keith still felt his chest sinking further from lying to the other. His head was not in the right space as he slowly became woozy again. Feverish even.

Lance picked up the queue and made his way down the bed, letting go of Keith’s hand. He noticed the other slowly falling asleep, yawning every once in a while and rubbing at his eyes.

“But really, dude. I am here for you, if you ever need it, okay?” Lance smiled, trying through kindness (actually passive aggressive peer pressure) to reiterate his best of intentions.

Keith blinked up to him as he listened to Lance speak 

_ Remember, child, I can cut his throat. _

Keith gave a small smile. “I know.” He said to both.

Lance got up from the bed at this with a nod of his head. He had really hoped that Keith would have said more. Doesn’t the idiot know that the only way to stop this thing was if he talked about it? It was obvious he was keeping secrets, which only made Lance all the more suspicious.

“Lance?” Keith called to him, grabbing his hand and forcing him to stay in the room for just a little longer. “Thank you, by the way. For what you said. It- it uhm, it helped more than you think it did…”

Lance didn’t turn, blush turning into a blaring heat on his face as Keith’s words flushed through him. He let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Yeah, don’t mention it, buddy. Anytime.” He gulped.

“You didn’t have to do that for me, though, so thank you.”

Lance whipped around at that, feeling his hand loosely fall from Keith’s hold.

“Yeah, Keith, of course I did.”

Keith snorted before yawning wretchedly. He fell somberly back down to his bed, signaling that he was done with the conversation. Lance hummed as Keith shifted in his bed, noticing then that the other began to relax underneath the comforters. 

“Just get some sleep for now if you can.” Lance said, walking to the bedside and pulling the sheets over the others shoulder. “Thank you.” Keith breathed out, eyes shutting as sleep took over in an instance.

“Anytime buddy.”

He left the room, feeling a little better seeing Keith as Keith, albeit still shaken up.

As he walked down the hall, he heard Keith’s voice inside his own head, replaying the little conversation. 

“ _You didn’t have to do it for me, though.”_

Lance let out an angry scowl, hands exasperatedly falling over his eyes as he palmed his own face.

“Of course I had to Keith.” He yelled out to himself, shouts echoing down the barren halls.

In the silence that followed, Lance felt his heart sink as the thought ‘ _I’d do anything for you_.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's becoming frighteningly more evident that I'm a major cornball who enjoys fucking mounds of fluff and cliches....  
> Anyone ever play/watch playthroughs of Silent Hill P.T Demo? Thats what I listened to while writing/editing some of this, thus that is what the voice is inspired by. FUN! Also, from my sad knowledge: gilipollas = asshole in english translated from spanish.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this slower chapter, just more description again, but yah hope you liked it! I tried REALLLY hard to edit it this time, more so than usual as it is longer and grammatical errors are the bane of my own existence. so yah, until next time (I'm hoping to do weekly and longer updates from here on out, since after Chapter 4, shit hits the fan and I'm super excited for that to happen #PoorKeith #PoorLance)
> 
> Come check me out: http://turnawaytherose.tumblr.com/


	4. Hold onto me (I'm a little unsteady)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Warning - Violence, medium depictions of extreme burns, wounds, a little gore, and hurt!Lance occur. Please be warned if you don't like that kind of thing.  
> 2) I have no idea how engineering, computer hacking, mechanics, and rebuilding works, especially on Fictional Robotic Space Lions, not even remotely. I apologize, I tried.  
> 3) Due to #2, the ending of this chapter was the last thing written for this entire fic, fun fact! I dreaded it that much...
> 
> Now I hope you enjoy! :D

Allura, Pidge, and Coran were in the Castle’s library. Pidge sat with her laptop scanning the technological documents as Allura searched through all of her father’s physical material with Coran. The artificial light fell brightly from above, dancing along the floor in a slow and shimmered dance. No one spoke as they studied their texts.

Allura seemed to have some idea what she was looking for, if her studious and pleasured hums were anything to go by. She didn’t seem to be offering Pidge any of that information, however.

Coran sat making notes, whispering to himself and playing with his moustache as his eyes ran down the material. Hunk and Shiro had stayed behind to help clean up after dinner, Hunk offering to take Keith’s turn tonight for dishes.

Pidge’s scan had finished loading completely and she set forth her search. She sat cross-legged, computer on her lap as she typed with a ferocious speed. Her searches seemed to become more narrow and narrow as the translated texts fell into three different categories: alchemy, spiritual druidry, and witchcraft. Each were separate entities given their various methods, but each allowed for a dark form to take over, showing signs of what had been happening to Keith. She read over the symptoms the dark ‘enter alchemy, spiritual druidery, witchcraft here’ had on each subject, but there wasn’t that much of a difference for symptoms under the guise of ‘strange voices took over my friend’:

 _Trouble thinking, concentrating, or decision making._ Check. Keith could barely hold a on a conversation long enough to make a response as of late.

 _Changes in appetite, often reduced appetite and weight loss._ Check. Evident by Keith’s current loosening clothes and protruding cheekbones. Also, the mice had eaten more of his food than he did. So….

 _Angry outburst, irritability or frustration even over small matters._ Check. He almost gave Lance a black eye when the other accidentally knocked his foot the other day. He yelled some pretty bad things, none of which Lance luckily seemed to take to heart. The other understood that Keith was nowhere near himself from the stress and forgave him, but not without first yelling back.

 _Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming oneself for something that wasn’t their responsibility._ Once again, Check. Keith continued to apologize for his outburst with Lance, and obviously still thought about it. As well, the entire thing with Shiro on that planet, everyone knew he still blamed himself for ‘almost letting Shiro die.’ Jesus, were her teammates all this melodramatic? Was she this melodramatic? Was it contagious? Pidge didn’t want to think more into that train of thought.

 _Sleep disturbances including insomnia or sleeping too much._ Check.

 _Tiredness and lack of energy._ Check.

 _Anxiety, agitation or restlessness._ Pidge winced at the last symptom, writing down one last mental, Check, sighing in anger. There had been signs all along. But she was allowing Keith to wallow. If she ever felt down, she just wanted time to herself. She had only treated Keith the way she would hope to be treated. The other didn’t like to talk much either, rather sitting off to the side observing introvertedly more than anything. So was this also Pidge’s fault? Was she also to blame for allowing the voice to continue on as it had and not speaking with Keith sooner? She shook her head. Okay, now here the melodrama came. She cheekily concluded that it was, in fact, contagious.

Just as she began to study the next set of lists, the lights above her flashed, seemingly losing power. Allura looked up at the same time as Coran, worry evident on her face. Pidge felt herself freeze, not moving until Allura gave a signal.

“Coran, do you feel that?” The princess asked, face paling as her book fell to the ground. The light surged again like a power outage, trying to keeps its energy from failing.

Coran stood up, making a show as he tried to sense his surrounds with his wild and over the top gestures.

“I… I do Princess. It’s the Castle’s Crystal!” He shouted.

“Wait what, what’s happening?” Pidge yelled then, watching the other two jump to their feet. The power disconnected from her computer with a spark and powering it down. The lights snapped off, emitting the area in pure darkness.

When Pidge looked down, she noticed a faint blue flowing stream running down the room and out the closed door. It looked like an azure river of circular particles.

Curiously, Pidge went to touch it with an outstretched hand.

“Don’t!” Allura shouted, grabbing her wrist and yanking it away. “It’s the quintessence of the crystal. Touch it and you will be electrocuted!’ 

“Wait what? Electrocuted? So you're telling me that that blue stream is the power of the crystal, the same power and energy that's fueling the Castle?" Allura just gazed at her, impressed she had picked up the information at the flick of a switch. "Woah," Pidge said, fascinated. She analyzed the tiny waving length at her feet again. "So it's likened to a cable line between utility poles, with flowing power just without it’s outer surface material... That is so cool!” She spoke enamored with the subject, never believing she would actually ever see energy outright being transmitted from one source to another. 

Coran took her wrist as the back up power turned on in the Castle. Sirens commenced, yelling ‘I _ntruder Alert!'_ when the blue and red warning lights began flashing every other slow tick or so.

“I have no idea what that human nonsense means, but we have to get out of here! We need to find out where all our quintessence is going!”

* * *

 Lance ran down the hallway as quickly as he could when he heard the warning bells go off. He had been snoozing in the corner from watching Shiro and Hunk finish up the dishes when it all occurred. The lights flickered every so often, energy faltering before shutting down with one fateful zap.

They saw the blue line flowing out the door like a stream and circled around it curiously, no one saying anything. Lance, being Lance, had kneeled down and was smart enough to touch the damned flowing thing and be horrifically electrocuted by it. A girlish shriek from pain had been wailed, Lance was not happy to admit. From this, Hunk calmly hypothesized that the blue stream was the Castle’s power being sucked away, like energy flowing through a power cord, only this was more open and legitimately physical. Lance gave him a growl as he laid literally steaming in a heaped pile on the floor.

“Come on!” Shiro grabbed Lance, and thus began their trek as they followed the line. Lance’s heart sunk, somehow knowing exactly where it was leading too. He ran faster at this, feeling the energy and cold picking up.

He ran frantically to Keith’s room, speed unmatched to both Shiro and Hunk who were seemingly acres behind him. When they turned the corridor to the bedroom hall, they almost stopped from hearing Keith’s whimpered screams from behind his door.

Lance, having made it there first, grabbed and pulled at the entrance. Lance gave an angered shout when it didn't do anything. With no energy remaining in the castle, the door wouldn’t open. It wasn’t budging.

“We have to pry it apart!” Hunk screeched, hands roughly grabbing the edges a soon as he arrived at Lance’s sides. He clasped his hands along side Shiro's and Lance’s, and together they all began pulling with all of their might. They noticed the stream starting to grow, legs widening around the middle of the door as they tried to remain safe from harm. The screaming picked up in agony from the new growth in size. All emergency lights would even sometimes stop completely. “It’s made it’s way into the Castle’s back-up supply!” They heard Coran from down the hall, Allura and Pidge just beside him wearing their armour. The darkness angered Lance, it only made it more difficult to locate the raven haired boy, and fully grasp what the fuck was going on. As well as eerie Lance noted. This was a straight up Japanese Horror levels of scary, immersive sounds and atmosphere included.

“Guys we have to hurry!” Pidge shouted, pointing to the ever extending stream of energy flowing on the ground and through the door. She somehow had a crowbar in her hand, shoving past the three men and jumped over the now river. She pushed Lance aside quickly, whamming the crowbar into the opening and began pushing. Shiro seemed to pick up the hint and began to help her wrench it open with force.

With both of their efforts, the door began to slide apart, albeit unwillingly.

Hunk and Lance took hold of one side of the opening, while Allura and Coran took the other. It was a team effort, but they made it work when the door just seemed to glide open with a _swoosh_ , sweeping to the sides and allowing all the paladins to enter.

The screaming stopped. 

Keith stood in the centre of the room, the red and blue lights flickering against his darkened form. His back was turned towards them, his face opposite and staring into the mirror. 

In his hand Keith held his favoured dagger, now lightened up with the same pure blue as it had looked earlier in the training arena, the same azure flowing towards him. They could see the stream flowing up towards the dagger, moving inside it, the energy extending and forever opening. Lance felt the haunted and dead eyes before seeing them, already knowing that the voice had taken over their friend yet again.

The dagger sparkled, literally sparkled, as the particles connected into it from the ground up. What scared Lance the most during his two second observation was how Keith had the dagger positioned against his chest, as though he was ready to plunge it deep within himself.

“No!” Lance leapt forward, trying to grab the dagger from the other’s hand. Another yet much more sharp spark of electricity and heat swept over his palms, burning them down to the flesh in an instant. This energy was much more strong than the previous, just having been flowing down the corridor. It made sense, this energy had built up and was all locked into that dagger. Of course it would want to near explode Lance’s hands off.

Lance buckled, holding his extremely burnt palms to his chest. Third degree if he was lucky, he decided. The dagger remained in Keith’s hold, which in contrast remained completely fine and healthy. When he looked up, Lance noticed the extreme paleness of his friend’s bony cheeks, only emphasized by his peering gaze. It struck him like a knife in a wound, a tense feeling building up in his chest. Unlike before, Keith's eyes were now completely overtaken in black. No colour remained, almost likened to a Galra’s yet only black rather than the offensive yellow.

Lance would almost prefer to see the Galran colour, or even better would be seeing Keith's faded violet at this point. At least he could handle that. The complete black just meant that the voice had fully taken control, and Lance had no way of knowing if he could get Keith back now or not. He shuttered, his heart throbbing at the thought.

 _No_. He was getting Keith back, he had to get Keith back whether Keith liked it or not. He forced it to happen before, he'd do it again. Always. And especially since Lance wasn’t about to allow himself the pity of thinking of a life without Keith, without his loud bickering, or intense training, or gentle listening, or mediocrely cute and tired glances when he pushed his hair out his face.

Okay, Lance allowed himself the pity of the thoughts, but he wasn’t allowing that situation to actually occur. 

“The energy! We need to stop it before it’s too late!” Coran shouted, pointing towards the continuing and deepening particles entering the dagger.

Keith turned at that, the emotionless expression turning into pure hatred and rage.

“Ke-Keith?” Lance blinked. Keith snarled, using his foot and connecting it with Lance’s chest, throwing the Blue Paladin straight into the wall with a power and stride unmatched to anything he’d seen in combat before. Lance felt his head connect to the wall with a snap. He slid down, knees falling forward and onto his stomach.

“Lance!” He thought someone had shouted, further away in his stupor.

“We have to get that dagger! Or it’s going to take everything!” Allura, Lance noted, had yelled. Rising to his elbows, Lance tried focused his eyes. They were disoriented as his head began to ache with an aggressive pain. He was sure that was blood from where his fingers touched, the gravely burnt skin meeting opened wound on his head, but Lance remained calm. He watched on the floor as the Paladins took a defensive stance under Allura’s command.

“Attack!” She yelled, and they were off, each ready and willing to fight Keith.

Keith shot forward as well.

Lance shook his head as he remained in his sunken position. This wasn’t the way to go about it, he thought miserably. They clashed, a low ringing entering Lance's ears as he winced. He could only remain stunned, and he couldn’t help compare the battle to a stimulator match, but instead of paladin versus bot it was the harsh reality of paladin versus paladin. Teammate versus teammate; his friends. He choked on that, trying to realize that this wasn’t Keith. Their Keith. But it was his body.

And if their talk had been anything to go by from earlier, and remembering how Keith reacted in the training room, Lance could make a bet that Keith was in there, watching everything happen.

He was probably witnessing first hand his friends attacking him. Lance would have to make a note to reiterate with terrifyingly annoying levels that this was not his fault. Keith was not to be blamed.

But how could he justify that when the look of bloodlust was there, so vivid over Alluras, Pidges and Shiro’s features as they attacked, missed, and dodged Keith’s perfectly kept and striking body.

All of his moves, Lance couldn’t help notice, were perfect, calculating, crafted and experienced. Whoever it was knew how to fight while also taking risks. Some of his moves were precarious and outgoing, striking or dodging just a little too close to the last second for comfort.

Hunk, being Hunk, instead ran to Lance during the fight, trying to help the other stand.

In the middle of the battle room, Lance heard Coran shout, “Please be careful Princess!”

Lance watched as Pidge, Shiro, Allura grunted and shouted. They all took turns attacking Keith, one on one, three on one, surprise attacks, defense attacks, offensive strikes. Keith seemed to grasp all of them, never taking a single punch. He did some good damage on his friends though. 

Coran ran to Lance and Hunk too, noting Hunks inability to lift Lance up. Helping with Hunk’s hold, they then tried tried to escape the room. 

“But, but, this is forbidden ancient alchemy,” Coran muttered more to himself than anyone. “This is dark, it hasn’t been used in years and forgotten- how is this happening?.” He anxiously admitted, and Lance and Hunk exchanged bleary yet concerned looks. 

Keith swiped the still glowing and absorbing dagger side to side tenaciously, grazing Pidge’s left shoulder through her armour. With a pained yelp, Pidge fell to the floor on her knees in defence as Shiro came in from behind and kicked. Keith seemed to sense this and jumped up high. He turned mid air and stretched out his leg, his foot connecting with Shiro’s jaw. Allura saw the kick and grabbed the arm Keith had used for momentum when he landed, and flung him over her own shoulder and swiftly down to the ground. Keith didn’t even grunt, he just stood back up with ease, the blue particles now wrapping around his body completely rather than solely the dagger.

Hunk looked to Lance once they approached the door. He stilled, Lance moving from their grasps. Still unable to use his burnt and achy hands, he decidedly leaned against the cupboard with Coran’s help, the door still opened just inches beside them, the energy now flowing like a strengthened river from the ground towards Keith.

Luckily for the paladins, whenever Keith moved, the energy stream didn’t move with him. It seemed to glitch at its lost connection, needing a moment before reconnecting. This was made difficult as Keith was consistently moving during the fight, which luckily meant that none of the Paladins were electrocuted even if they did step on it. If anything, they only felt a small shock, but that was all.

“I’m going in,” Hunk said, activating his bayard. Lance was impressed. The friendly giant didn’t even bat an eyelid nor hesitate to throw up. It was remarkable how far he’d come, Lance weakly thought.

Everyone continued fighting, shouting at Keith to snap out of it. The blue light continued growing larger and larger. 

Finally, in a terminating swoop, Keith elbowed Hunks jaw, surprising him. He grabbed the yellow shirt by the chest, lifting him with an ease that Lance didn’t think possible and threw him backwards into Shiro and Allura, who tried to catch him. The three collided into the far wall, not unlike Lance had done earlier. 

Pidge, using her bayard, extended the rope to try and capture Keith’s legs. He stopped, allowing it to happen. The green entrapped his blue ankles, and Keith offered a hint of an odd expression with the tilt of his head, hair fluttering past his shoulders.

“I got him!” Pidge yelled out excitedly. But Lance knew better. The blue particles absorbed quickly into her bayard as Keith as stopped his movements, thus spiraling down the ropes in a bright blue stream of electricity and striking Pidge on her chest, burning straight through her armor with a bang. Pidge screamed in pain as she flew to her back, groaning. 

Keith stood in the middle of the room. All the paladins on their knees or back, too hurt to get up. 

Everything fell in silence, not even the sirens could be heard blaring their alerts anymore. The Castle’s backup energy was almost drained. 

Lance could feel it more than he had heard it. It was the voice again, but this time an extension of Keith rather than inside his body. It lurked outside the door before entering with a fowl _swoosh_ and faint screech, rushing past Lance and swirling around the room like wind.

It was jarring during its slow yet evidently increasing tempo and tonal change. It became deafening in a matter of moments. The voice picked up with an intense and sweeping speed, the literal wind moving everything forward, and Lance could feel the shocking stretch of the energy entering through him and towards the dagger. The pain had spiked up in his hand from the intensity, making him shutter. The power and cyclone was moving at an incredible velocity, unparalleled to what Lance had ever witnessed. It moved underneath him, around him and through him, buzzing loudly. It was even beginning to knock over furniture from its efficiency. Allura placed her hand onto Shiro’s shoulder who did the same to Hunk, holding onto them as she used her remaining hand to claw into the ground, anchoring herself as they were beginning to be dragged into the centre of the room.

Lance could even feel his feet begin to sway forward, slipping against the floor from its devastating pull.

Keith was trapped in the centre, his body pulled from off the ground. His head was tilted back, drawn harshly towards the ceiling. Lance watched as the energy warped itself around the other, extending from the floor to the ceiling like a particle barrier that they had used from the mermaids to fly back into space. But this one was more threatening. This one was dangerous, and it was currently using Keith as its energy source. 

Lance’s eyes shot forward.

That was it! The power was building up from the dagger, but the dagger remained in Keith’s hands. Keith was like a battery, the connector between energy sources.

In hindsight, it was so obvious then. Lance could actually see the progression of it all. The energy flew from beneath, entering his body through his legs, down his arms and through the dagger before releasing into the sky to whatever or whoever was using it.

Lance needed break that connection.

The bright blue wind swept around Keith like a hurricane. Keith’s eyes were extended wide as though in pain. No longer black, they instead glowed a blazing white. His mouth was opened slightly, seemingly stuck in a state of shock and unable to move.

If Lance knew any better, he could tell that what ever the voice had done to overtake his friend for the Castle’s quintessence was hurting him. Badly.

Eyebrows drawn, Lance latched his hands onto the cupboard with a searing pain. Determination was the only factor that made Lance force himself to stand. It burned, by fucking god was it painful, but he needed to do this. 

“Keith!” He shouted forward, barely heard over the whipping sounds.

“Keith! Come on, buddy!” Moving one foot forward, he tried to steady himself.

“I’m your friend! Remember?” The words seemed to flow to Keith, who noticeably twitched. The voice continued screeching around them, even louder. Keith gasped, eyes expanding. The energy shot up, and Lance felt his grip loosen form the cupboard.

The voice had figured Lance out from their last encounter, extending its power over Keith. It’d be more difficult this time, Lance idly thought. 

Feet sweeping from underneath him, Lance decided his actions with finality.

He let go.

Lance was dragged forward on the ground, being swept away from its high speeds. Thinking quickly and knowing he couldn’t touch the floor’s energy or lest be burned to a crisp, he used the momentum of the wind to lift himself up from his back and onto his standing feet. He skidded as his body wanted to fall forward as though he were skiing down a mountainside, momentum forcing him to face-plant. Swiftly nearing the pools edge in not even a nano-tick, he jumped from the ground and into the chaotic beam, straight for Keith with a scream.

His arms wrapped around the others shoulders and he let himself be tugged. His legs and body swung around, the wind still in control of every movement. It felt exactly as it had when the Castle had tried to kill him by ejecting him into space. Only this time he was hanging onto Keith rather than the wall.

He used is muscles and pulled himself in, beginning to hug the other tightly. He tried to get his face closer to Keith’s own, needing the other to hear him and feel him.

Together they could beat the voice. Even if he was fried in the process, it was for a just cause right. 

Shiro had called out something intangible and the wind changed in frequencies, Keith trying to fight whatever had hold of his body as Lance’s hold seemed to introduce a warmth that hadn’t been there previously. The feeling of human touch connected to the other, and the power began flashing and the screech picked up in anger. 

The wind was still too strong, even from inside the hurricane, and Lance was literally hugging Keith for dear life around his shoulders and chest at this point. Keith’s eyes widened at the touch, no longer from the pain, even blinking softly from the new found feeling. 

The wind slowed just a hint, and Lance was able to swing his feet around, now placed himself in front of Keith. The wind was still strong enough that it was forcefully pushing his own body into Keith’s and vice verse, but it was better than being flung from his side. 

Lance tightened his grip, hugging harder which Keith made an audible gasp at. The wind and energy lessened, the glowing of Keith’s eyes flickering as they shut with a pained sigh. 

“You don’t have to handle this on your own, Keith.” He choked out. 

The glow of the dagger darkened.

The wind decreased then, almost near completion and Lance could feel his feet slowly fall back onto the ground. When his feet did meet floor, the shock and burn of the built up electricity passed through him with a jolt. He swore he saw black from it’s hit, but he only tightened his arms. He placed one hand on Keith’s back and one hand on his head, easing Keith forward into Lance’s own collarbone.

The glowing was still apparent as was the energy underneath, but most was almost calm again.

With a pained breath, Lance said, “It’s going to be okay." 

The energy surged and swayed, before dropping off with complete finality. And when Lance dared take a glance, he saw the red outlines of his veins, the energy still sparking through him like a lightning strike hitting the ground.

Lance screamed as the pain built up. And while the pain was still evident, the pulses that continued suddenly vanished as the fading energy began to pass through his drained body. He felt it enter, spreading with power through himself and Keith. They were connected together, one and the same, the bridge between junctions. The harsh pulse was amazing and exhilarating yet painful and agonizing and nothing had ever been quite like it.

But as soon as it started it slowed, coming to a stop. The blue faded into the background, the remaining bits of quintessence seeping back into the Castle’s crystal. The reds and blues of the emergency lights suddenly turned back on, flickering in the darkness. Lance sighed with defeat, feeling the release of built up tension in the room. 

He felt rather than saw when Keith fell absolutely forward into his embrace, his entire body using Lance as a crutch. And Lance was okay with that. He took his own hand, touching the others hair and pulled Keith’s head into his chest, rather than where his chin had connected to his burnt collarbone previously. He tightened his hold on Keith’s back and Lance could feel tears begin to drip down his face as he sobbed, his chin resting on top of Keith’s noticeably soft head.

“You’re okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you, I’ve got you.” He spoke honestly. 

Keith, barely aware, groaned weakly from Lance’s torn shirt. His eyes, which had blinked blearily up to Lance began to fall shut. A tiny moan escaped his raw lips, breath hitting Lance’s face due to their closeness, but Lance could see the colour flowing back into his cheeks. The pink came back while Keith collapsed completely against Lance, his knees buckling from under him. Lance remained sturdy, holding onto the other, still crying. The burns and melted boils were now apparent over both of their skins. Apparently the energy had done a fair amount to Keith, but it wasn’t as considerable as Lance, who swore he saw smoke sweeping from his bare arms and hands. His clothes were frayed and tattered, burnt by the electricity. And he was sure his hair would never recover from the faux-fro it was trying to mimic, standing up straight and poofing up. His mother would have loved a picture of it, he thought remotely. 

Lance didn’t care, he could barely breath, his heart understandingly palpitating without a steady rhythm. He didn’t know how he was even standing, but knew he wouldn’t for much longer.

“Hunk?” He called out weakly. The Hawaiian boy, somehow realizing the urgency of the non-verbal request, shot forward, grabbing Lance and Keith as they fell to the ground. Hunk placed his hands gently around Lance’s waist, using his chest and inner shoulder as a pillow for Lance’s head. He tried his best to not hurt the other’s body any further. 

Allura, on the opposite side of the room, ran to Pidge immediately to address her wounds. The Green Paladin wasn’t as hurt as they had assumed her to be. From the way she took the shot, Allura had almost thought the worse for her younger paladin. Death seemed to be just around the corner, from her minds eye, already pressing for words to say at the ceremony as a eulogy. Thank god not everything appeared as it seemed. 

Pidge wiped a falling drip of sweat form her brow, Allura helping her sit up and lean against her side as support. She placed a hand to her battered armour and completely burnt chest. 

Yes, it hurt. Yes, it would scar. Yes, her heart may have stopped for a brief second. But she could still breathe and her heart was once again beating. Pidge knew all this logically, but had allowed herself a moment of shock. In seconds, she could have been killed. Just like that. And what would have happened then? To her mother, her father, her brother? To Team Voltron… She knew she couldn’t dwell, barely recognizing Lance and Keith’s nearly burnt corpses. But honestly, she wanted to allow herself some moments of agony before recollecting herself all together. Later, when the others woke, is when they would need her for support. Now was the time she could show some pain, acknowledge that she needed help and wanted someone to hold. A few tears fell from her face as she pressed herself against Allura’s chest, only to be soon surrounded by Allura’s gentle and motherly arms. She weeped silently, the pain more excruciating than she allowed herself to show.

Shiro slowly walked over to Hunk after addressing Allura and Pidge. Allura left with the Green Paladin to start the healing pods and medical beds. Tonight was to be a long night for everyone.

Shiro, kneeling on one knee, calmly yet feebly unclenched the death grip Lance had around the Red Paladin. Using no words and exhausted sympathetic eyes, Shiro maneuvered Keith until he could hold him in his arms, one hand hooked underneath Keith’s knees and the other holding him along his shoulders and backside. Keith’s head was tucked away into Shiro’s chest, resting not at all serenely. 

Lance remained awake, taking in the sight of the chaotic room. He laughed softly with his smirked side grin, “I don’t care...” He began to cough out. Hunk noticed how he sounded like someone who was just saved from a burning house and had ingested all of the toxic fumes. Hunk thought about this, guessing the idea hadn’t strayed too far from the truth.

Yet Lance stubbornly continued, needing to diffuse the situation, “I don’t care what he says anymore, something is definitely going on.” Hunk and Shiro gave each other a look as Lance finally passed out against Hunk, the burn on his cheeks overlapping the sad smile still somehow held on his face. 

As Hunk picked up Lance, both he and Shiro had to laugh at what was said.

What else could they do? 

* * *

When Keith woke up four days later, he hadn’t exactly expected it to be with 12 different pairs of eyes staring down at him, literally inches from his face. 

He almost screamed. (He did, however, let out a manly squeal.) 

“Uh, hi guys?” Was his awkward hello to the group.

The sigh of relief that ran through his friends was painfully visible.

Looking around, he realized he wasn’t in the cryopod. That much was obvious, but rather he laid in a bed. A medic bed.

Alrighty then.

“Thank quiznaking god,” Lance was the first to speak, arms crossed and stern from where he sat. “We were worried you were going to shoot up in the magical space beam again.”

Allura sighed from the corner. “Lance, we told you. It’s called quintessence.” 

Keith, while left unperturbed by this information, instead glanced towards Lance, taking in his bandaged body. His hair was shorter, probably cut from the burnt edges that had endured most of the strain of the electricity. It was exactly as it had been when they first entered space now that Keith thought about it. It had been getting a little long for the other’s liking, when Keith remembered all of their prior breakfasts chats when Lance went on about how his hair was doing the flippy thing since coming into space.

Lance wore a simple white t-shirt, pyjama pants, and his blue lion slippers and Keith couldn’t help but stare. Lance was the physical embodiment of a mummy. There was a myriad of bandages etched over every bit of his displayed skin. It started on each arm from his shoulders, swirling down to he tips of only some of his fingers. There were some on his neck, and even a few on his face and around Lance’s head. Keith winced.

He had done that. Those bandages were there and his friend was hurt because he couldn’t keep that damned voice at bay. He shuttered remembering everything that had transpired. How the voice called out to him, lulled him into a depressive state, leaving Keith with yet another out of body experience. His body hadn’t been his own again, and he had watched from the sidelines as he attacked his friends. 

He had no control, he had absolutely no control and Kith hated it when he felt like he had no control. It was like being in the orphanage again never getting to chose where or when his next home was, only getting kicked out at random when he was just starting to fit into the routine of things.

It was horrible. 

And then the words Lance had said, at the training area and later in the middle of the bedroom entered Keith’s mind. ‘ _You’re okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you, I’ve got you.”_ The Cuban boy had whispered. There had been no lie there.

And when he felt Lance’s arms wrap around him, the energy just seemed to drift away.

Keith was left in a daze, the memory of how it felt when the energy had passed through only the two of them reconnecting. It was though they were in Voltron, the bond ever increasing but the intensity ten fold. It had honest to god felt like they had melted together, there was no beginning or ending Lance or Keith, it was only Lance&Keith together. No beginning, middle, or end.

He recalled how after, when he collapsed against the warm body of the other, how he had felt wrapped around his heated arms, his own cold form savouring it to pieces. Keith could barely stand, too exhausted, not even feeling his legs when they dropped from under him. All he knew was the supporting feeling of Lance’s chest, the nice constant sound of his heartbeat. It was a rhythm he wanted to memorize, even if it had been a little unsteady. It felt safe there, as if he never moved the noise or the pain would never reach him again. 

He had heard Lance sobbing above him. From pain, happiness, anguish, Keith hadn’t known. He had just wanted the crying to stop.

Why was he crying? What would make Lance cry? Such a beautiful person doesn’t deserve to cry. Please stop crying, the happiness was better. Safer…. 

The next thing he knew was this: 12 eyes hovering over him, judging him obviously, silently, and very much deeply. 

Holding a sturdy gaze with Lance, that strange warm feeling in his chest increased. Keith blinked in confusion at it, shaking his head and said, “Thanks guys, again… I don’t think you know how much I appreciated it…”

There was a warm blush spreading on his face, and Lance snorted in the distance. “Do you even remember what happened this time?”

“No, no I don’t…” He admitted with a hint of shame. The ‘ _I don’t remember all of it’_ left unspoken, becoming just another pink elephant in the room.

Allura cleared her throat, picking up her queue. “I have an honest idea,” She stated. She bit her lip when she turned to the Red Paladin.

“Have you been hearing voices, Keith?” 

Keith made a noise at the proposition, hating how weak it made him sound. He twiddled his thumbs as he shimmied further down the bed, but nodded all the same.

“I need a verbal response, Keith.”

Keith clenched his eyes with a snide growl.

“Yes.”

“And the voices, what do they sound like?”

“I-I don’t know,” Keith expressed honestly. 

“You don’t know what they sound like? I thought you just admitted to hearing voices for a while now?” Lance shouted out untrustingly, which only made Keith flinch. “Dios mio, I cannot believe this. After saving your ass thrice now you still don’t trust us enough-

“But it’s true, though!.” Keith exclaimed sitting up, turning to Lance with wide and fretful eyes. He needed Lance to believe him, so he cut the other off abruptly which seemed to work with his hurried tone. “The sounds, or at least the one sound, it changes. “ He spoke frantically towards the Cuban boy. Lance lifted an eyebrow, resuming to listen to Keith’s words. “It’s always from the same source, the same thing, but it’s always different. Sometimes it’s murmuring, sometimes it speaks in a different language, sometimes it’s buzzing or an intense ringing, sometimes it just screams like it’s dying…”

“But it’s always there.” Pidge pointed out lightly. Keith turned to the little tech-genius and nodded.

“Is there a sound it does more often than others?” Shiro pushed further.

“Yeah, it’s speaks more than anything. But not in English, it only sometimes says things in English when it’s really trying to get to me, I guess. Or only when I’m close to losing it.” 

“So it’s a different language mostly?”

Keith hummed his response. “But like through a door or a static radio sometimes. It’s like it’s murmuring or crying from a conversation that you aren’t supposed to hear. It’s there, but you can’t pick up the words.”

Allura crossed her arms with a tightened nod. “This is exactly what I feared it to be.” She spoke up. 

Keith suppressed his own dire surprise, since Lance did it for him.

“Exactly what you expected?!” He declared angrily. “You said you wouldn’t expect anything until you had evidence, which you haven’t received until just now. What possible idea have you been stewing up that you all of a sudden you say it’s ‘ _as you expected!_ ’ What the quiznak, Allura.”

“Calm yourself, Lance.” She said sternly and with aggression. “I had to wait and hear from Keith his own experiences, then I would have known for sure that my hypothesis was correct. Which it was, by the way,” She replied smoothly.

“What is your hypothesis, Princess?” Hunk asked, hands underneath his butt as he shimmied himself towards her with interest and content from his too small stool.

Eyes closed and withdrawn, Allura said, “Coran and I believe that dark alchemy has attached itself to you, Keith. Or rather your dagger.”

Everyones’ eyes popped out, because that wasn’t the conclusion their minds had come to.

“It seems to hold true alchemic properties, and whatever has been using you knows that. It is talking through you as an icon to transmit itself energy; an act banned and seen as rueful, may I add..” 

“What kind of dark alchemy are we talking about here?” Pidge spoke up, Her chest wound was still bandaged heavily all around her torso and shoulders, which she thought was a bit overdone, but kept her mouth shut since she knew it eased Shiro's concern. She knew she would need to take it easy physically for the next week, already monitoring her heart rate for Shiro’s reassurance more than anything. She sat on the bed, a blood pressure test circulating tighter around her upper arm. After the predicament, Pidge had spent three days in the healing pod, but had asked Allura to be released early if it seemed Keith was close to waking up, no matter what. Pidge was nearing 80% healed and still had some time left, but Allura kept true to her words, releasing Pidge early to see her friend awaken. She could always go back in after the fact.

“That is what we’re unsure about.” Allura explained carefully, hands folding together. She sat on the opposite bed as Keith, regarding him with sympathetic eyes.

Hunk turned to sit beside Pidge on her own medic bed, her hospital gown brushing past his knees.

Shiro remained standing beside Keith, leaning against his bed with one hand against his hip. Lance moved over and stood guarded on Keith’s other side, arms crossed and intense.

Allura began her story:

“You see, Paladins, the Killachromian’s were once a great alliance with our people over a million years ago. But they specialized in alchemy and herbal medicine. Their planet was rich with energy and an abundance of natural resources; it was easy to understand how they developed such in depth knowledge of their craft.

However, some of these few individuals developed what was called a dark alchemy. This type of alchemy was used millions of years ago, specifically in order to harm others, rather than the typical mechanical or medicinal use of alchemy seen.

They would create an object such as your dagger, and use it as an icon to store and transmit energy. And I’m not just talking about small portions here, I mean the icons could hold and store innumerous amounts of power, or in this case quintessence, which is the energy and fuel almost all our planets run on to survive. It’s similar to your water, Paladins. 

However, if the dark alchemists had enough quintessence built up within their icons, and with the right alchemic properties at their disposal, they could, and would, destroy entire planets using their techniques. These people wanted power and control, and they had the dark knowledge to do so. If an individual didn’t listen, they would simply terminate you or your entire planet in just a few ticks.”

Allura sighed, watching as Lance placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder, squeezing it in support. Keith continued to look down, guilt evident across his face, fingers scratching anxiously together.

“Obviously, this sort or knowledge and power wasn’t allowed, and it took many years to reign in and ease the damage that had been done. My great, great, great Grandfather, King Demuir the Third, was one of the first to begin the resistance, one which they eventually succeeded. They fought the last of all the dark Killachromian’s and destroyed their manuscripts. You see, my grandfather had defeated them brilliantly by using their own tactic against them. We Alteans and the Galran people banded together and learned how to yield and enforce our own quintessence. The magic you saw earlier on the Balmera was a hint of that power. We use it within ourselves, while the Killachromians needed an object rather than their bodies to activate it.”

“Wait, wait, wait, back up a little-. The Alteans and the Galra?!” Hunk exasperated. 

Allura’s eyes twitched.

“Yes, Hunk, we were once an alliance. Now hush!.”

"In battle, we took their own energy away. They had been left defenseless, and immediately imprisoned. After this, all dark alchemy of the Killachromian people was banned to exist. Too many planets were destroyed, and even the pollution from the destruction was having an effect on our galaxy."

“So these species weren’t allowed to use their magic at all? What would happen if they had?” Pidge asked.

“Well, for the Killachromians, we were able to diffuse their abilities. Kind of like sucking the life out of an alcornus alpacas-“ Coran had interrupted, no one quite grasping what that meant.

“But, like I said, once anyone understood how to yield the power, anyone could use it. So to answer your question Pidge, if a Killachromian or another being and were caught using the dark properties, they were to be terminated on spot.” Allura stated. “The Killachromian’s only defined the craft, researched it and became experts, but anyone can use it. It’s like learning an instrument, or understanding a different language. It may not be part of your culture, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ever adapt it into your life.” Allura sighed, continuing on. 

“But it appeared as though we didn’t destroy all of the manuscripts. It was used when my Father, King Alfor, was still in power again. Myself and Coran were set to sleep by this point, I’ve only just recently read the reports...” This seemed to hurt Allura more than she would have liked to admit, not being there when her father needed her. She inhaled a shaky breath while bravely continuing forward. “Someone had taught themselves the craft and they too began to use it for the worst. In fact, it was the Black Paladin before you, Shiro, who witnessed the last known event of Killachromian dark alchemy. The individual who had rediscovered it used the last of it to destroy the Black Paladin’s planet. The report said they had died alongside the Planet as it had been so large, and yet here we are.”

Allura straightened, turning towards Keith. “Your dagger holds properties of Killachromian alchemy. Someone has tapped into that ability and turned its properties into dark alchemy. It is being used to hold perpetual amounts of quintessence, and whoever has been speaking to you has used you as their link. It seems to want the quintessence energy for some reason.” She spoke thoughtfully. 

Keith outwardly winced at this. She lifted her hands up, gesturing for him not to fret. “It’s not your fault, Keith, but we must find out who is contacting you, or how they changed over the alchemic properties to that of dark alchemy. I don’t personally understand all of the algorithms behind it, though, this alchemic stuff has never my hard-boiled egg in the morning-”

The others only stared at her.

“Oh, you know, it wasn’t something I agreeable?” She tried with an unsure stutter. “All the Alteans love a giant goose-tiger-dactyl egg in the morning, especially hard-boiled. Remember, we’d have quarterly festivals to celebrate the layings of such eggs during the spring harvest? 

When no one responded and everyone turned away sheepishly, Allura scowled. “Have none of you been paying attention during my Altean history lectures?!” And just like that, things fell into the normal rhythm of their lives, the voice currently quiet and not pestering Keith, which he remained thankful for.

Pidge, waving off Allura’s rant, gave a sinister smile, hitching her glasses up her nose. Turning to Hunk, she slammed her hand against the small of his back, a loud smack echoing in the medic bay. “Don’t worry princess, leave the mathematics part to me and Hunk,” She stated with a winked, Hunk pouting and rubbing his now sore behind.

“Or the part about the goose-tiger-dactyl eggs. Maybe we could find one of those. And hard-boil it. Yeah, I like that idea a lot, too, better even.” Hunk suggested.

“That would be much appreciated, Pidge” Allura said ignoring Hunk. “But we also need you two to recommence work on the lions.”

Their conversation turned into a mindless chatter, and Lance looked downwards at Keith, who was anxiously rubbing his fingers together and looking frantic. “Do you hear the voice at all now, Keith?” Lance asked quietly, forcing Keith to also tune out the others' proceeding conversation. Keith slowly looked up, and sighed with a shake of his head. He looked towards his own bandages and the medical bed, more questions raising.

“That’s good,” Allura contested, overhearing Lance and Keith's quieter interaction and noticing Keith's inquisitive gaze. “I'll admit, it's more of an Altean superstition, but if someone were ever in the same area as dark alchemy, they were never allowed near the controls of a ship or a healing pod, since we fear the dark alchemy may override the system. Or in this case, the individual in charge of the voice would have the power to override the system through you... This is why you aren't in a healing pod."

Keith made an understanding expression with a nod of his head. He could feel Lance shrug stiffly next to him.

"However, the voice is getting stronger, so we don’t have much time to lose. Come on everyone, we must start preparing.”

Keith remained silent the entire time during the exchange. He sat up in his bed, moving the dagger in his hand from the his bed's tableside. He stared at it, analyzing it.

When did his dagger become the problem? And why did it have to be his dagger?

“Do we need to destroy it, princess?” Keith asked minutely. He gravely worried about the response. He didn’t want that. This dagger had been with him through it all; It had always been the one thing that was truly his, passed down from his mother. He- he couldn’t lose it. If he had it, he never felt truly alone. He swore there was a presence with it sometimes, kind and gentle, especially when he was younger. It would buzz in his little hands during the scary nights, keeping him safe and seemingly sing him to sleep with gentle lullabies when his foster parents were being especially mean. 

Allura shook her head. “At this point in time, no.” Keith exhaled with relief, hugging the sheathed weapon. “Only the dark alchemists know the true words to destroy the dagger, nothing else will be able to even harm it as it contains too much of our quintessence. So, simply, we jus need to transfigure the chemical properties, then it can return to its old ways, transmitting the quintessence back to their original sources.”

“Yeah, simply.” Lance scoffed.

Keith sighed at this, falling slightly over himself while Allura kept talking, his hair sweeping past his face in protection.

Lance made a small sound, reaching forward in worry for his overturning friend. But noticing no real harm, he stayed back, one hand still on the other’s shoulder. Lance felt Shiro’s eyes looking at him, piercing at him strangely. He looked up and quirked his eyebrows at the older one’s odd expression. Shiro shook his head, gesturing back to Allura.

“For now, we have to find the Killachromian’s, or those who were at least in the most contact with the Killachromians before their complete termination. From what we understand, the last of their people died out from the war against Zarkon a few hundred years ago. He always held special hatred towards them.”

“And who might that be, Princess? The species last involved with the Killachromians?” Shiro asked sternly.

“I guess you wouldn’t know Shiro, but Pidge, Hunk, Lance? Do you remember the planet you found myself and Coran on after the wormhole? With the Mascalons on the planet Mascalon? They were great friends and loyalists to the Killachromians”

“UUGHHHH!” Lance loudly announced his discontent to the room. Pidge laughed loudly at this, remembering how Lance hated the Mascalons. Oh this was spectacular. She was sure some of their fur was still on his jacket now that she thought about.

“We’re going back to Planet Fluffballs?!” Lance drawled on.

Allura nodded her head. “Yes, as soon as the Lions are back up and started.”

* * *

After the Paladins had forced fed some food down Keith’s throat (“Come on, Keith. It’s good for you!” “ _Fuck you, it tastes like shit! You eat it!”_ “Honestly I wouldn’t feed it to my dear Sparky if he was starving, but it’s good for you, now open up for the airplane!!!’ Lance rejected the idea that the space goo that was once on his spoon was now in his hair from the ever-flippant Keith.)

Pidge changed from her hospital-like gown and tugged off the machines wires from her body, assessing her heart rate. After all seemed well for over an hour, she decided it was offering no new information. Her health was fine, and with Shiro satiated with that knowledge, Pidge left with Hunk to the hangars. They were hoping to revive Red and repair the seemingly impenetrable damage done to the Black Lion, though Hunk had gotten a good start with the Black Lion the entire week prior.

Allura and Coran left with them, Coran wildly gesturing how excited he was to revisit his good friend Yldamyreshbjorgk on the Planet of Mascalon. (Pronounced, Il-da-myer- shh-guh-bork, exactly how it’s spelled!) 

Shiro and Lance stayed with a quiet Keith until he fell asleep, the two sitting on chairs on either side of his bed. When dark eyelashes fell languidly shut against the pale cheeks, the two remaining paladins glanced at each other and nodded. As he stood up, Shiro turned to Lance and silently communicated to not make a sound, or Shiro would have his throat

Lance gulped.

They exited the medic bay, a quietness soon lingering over them like a blanket. Lance placed his bandaged hands in his sweatpant pockets as he slouched forward. He felt the tension ease, steps picking up in pace when Shiro’s hand patted his back. 

“You did really well with him, by the way.” Shiro began confidently, as if this wasn’t as difficult for him to watch as it was for Lance. Hell, knowing their history, this was probably killing Shiro to experience. And that wasn’t something Lance also needed to think about on top of everything. 

“I don’t think anyone else would have been able to get through to him like you did.” 

Lance scoffed and looked the other way as he flushed, trying to still play it cool. _‘Yeah right_ ,’ Lance thought. ‘ _Anyone probably could have done that. They just needed to apparently hug the life back into Keith, and ta-da, he was back. It’s an amazing thing what a hug can do to touch-starved people, amiright_?’ 

“Lance, listen, I know emotions might be running high, and things are getting pretty intense…” Shiro took his hand off of Lance’s back as he looked away sheepishly, hand gestures slightly awkward. “If you ever need anyone to talk to about anything, we’re all here for you, okay? And I’m always here for you too.” 

Lance shrugged his shoulders, hoping this conversation wasn’t actually taking place right after Keith had woken up and admitted to hearing voices.

“Always.” Shiro restated, with pressure. 

“I don’t need to talk ‘bout anything.” Lance mumbled into his shoulder childishly.

Shiro gave a small laugh, remaining calm and patient through this scenario. “You may not fully realize what’s happening yet, and that’s fine. But please don’t take it lightly. You’ve really changed Lance, you’ve really come into your own. I know I see it. I know Allura sees it. And I know Keith _definitely_ hasn’t failed to realize it either.” He spoke with a sly grin, emphasizing on Keith in that particular sentence. What was happening right now, Lance wondered briefly, his paces quickening. 

“What does Keith have to do with my changing?” Lance’s voice started to get a little more shrill. The flush across his face was becoming noticeable levels of red by this point.

“Oh, just-“ Shiro started, rubbing the back of his head. This wasn’t going the way he had planned. He was never very good with this type of thing. “You know, you two just started at the beginning of Voltron with this petty competition and childish games. Bu you two have grown, especially you. I don’t know if old Lance would ever have shot himself to save Keith quite like you did. And I know he really appreciates it.” Shiro spoke honestly needing Lance to know that meant what he said. 

He knew Keith’s history, his father being one of the foster care homes Keith had been forced to stay at during his later years. He read his files, stayed awake at night holding him through the nightmares. He’d been there for Keith, as Keith had been there for him. Keith was his family through and through. And it was because of Lance that Keith was still alive.

Shiro needed Lance to know this. Shiro himself, while loved by Keith, never would have gotten through to him the same way or as effectively as the younger boy had.

“He’s never had a family before, of course he’d appreciate it. And I’d do it with anyone of you, too…”Lance continued to mutter pathetically. He would hate to admit to it but his blush was enhancing ten fold, if that were even possible.

“Yesss,” Shiro drawled out. “But, okay.” He placed his hand on the middle of his facial scar, pinching his nose. “I guess, it’s just- I grew up with Keith and we were very close at the Garrison.”

A wild struck of jealousy appeared. Shiro used Awkward Space Dad Talks. Embarrassment damages Lance by 20 HP. Lance is in shock. He cannot reply.

“And I understand that you two are only 18, and things are still changing. Hell, I’m only 20 and things are still changing and developing for me,” Shiro confessed with embarrassment. He quickly shook his head, shooting certain thoughts out of his mind, far, far away…

“But no, that’s besides the point! I know there are only 7 people on board this aircraft, and tension can get high. And sometimes things change, _feelings change_ ,” Shiro prolonged the words, “and then before you know it,…. I uhm…. You, well…. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I care a lot for Keith, and I want to see him happy. And I care a lot for you too, and I want to see you happy. And if you two help make the other one happy, then that makes me happy-“

“What are you alluding to here, Shiro?!” Lance asked rather angrily, baring his teeth. “I don’t _like_ Keith. It’s like I said, he didn’t have a family back on Earth, but he has one here. So I helped him, and I’d do it again for anyone of you.” He argued loudly, chest puffing out to make himself appear bigger.

“Okay,” Shiro said trying to calm the other one down. He shook his head, deciding not to continue on with his so called planned speech. “But if you ever need someone to talk to about, uhm, _all_ of this,” he pointed to around the hallway. Lance offered a confused expression. “You know, Voltron, space stuff, missing Earth, I get it. We all get it. We are hear to listen, Lance. Even if you just need a shoulder to complain on.”

Lance fumed, stopping in the middle of the hallway.

“What do I need to complain about Shiro?” he answered honestly and very loudly, voice echoing sullenly down the foyer. “I’m not the one that has voices inside my head that are trying to take control of my body. I’m not the one whose entire planet was lost to Zarkon. I’m not the one who doesn’t know where my brother or father are!” His face heated up, anger seething, and he didn’t stop himself before he yelled, “And I’m not the one suffering with nightmares about what the Galra did to me every night! You don’t think I hear you crying out during my nightly walks? Because I do Shiro, and you’re just as bad. I get that this conversation might be some projecting type bullshit you’re laying on me but at least I am open with my problems! And they’re sure as hell not as stupid as some teenage melodramatic ‘he might not like me back’ bullshit that you think it is. I’m not the one hiding my issues here, Shiro, that’s you!” His voice rose as he spoke, becoming angrier and angrier until he just lashed out. He blinked for a second, not quite grasping that he just said all that out loud.

And why? Because Shiro called him out on his crush. He brought up Shiro’s time in prison and current PTSD because of some stupid crush?

What the fuck was wrong with him?

“Lance,” Shiro whispered, eyes hurt albeit unwavering.

Mummified hands now bundled back in pockets, Lance turned in the opposite direction guiltily. “I’m getting kind of tired. Talk to you later, Shiro.”

Lance essentially ran down the hall from guilt. 

* * *

 “I still don’t get that Killachromian icon thing…” Hunk explained unenthused. He had the panel of the Black Lion open on the outside of its leg, refiguring some wires. He placed some reshaped pieces of metal back into the destroyed areas a few days earlier, trying to make everything moveable once again. The pieces he couldn’t recreate, like the small pieces hanging off the ends or the tips of the claws, would just have to make do for now. Hunk decided he would eventually sand down those extended and possibly dangerous areas (if someone were to walk by them and get caught, their clothing and skin would be torn. It was that sharp, therefore was a safety hazard).

“The way I see it is that the icons are like self-made guns.” Pidge called out, computer wires connected to Red trying to get her to wake up. “But like a type of gun that runs on battery power and needs to be recharged to use. So maybe think of it as a gun-like-iphone, charging against the wall before they used it in battle. But instead of having a limit of power that could enter the gun-like-iphone, the guns never stopped charging, which would increase its kill rate and intensity.” 

“That’s a mean example, Pidge.” Hunk called out, sparks flying as he reconnected the wrong wires.

“Yellow wire, Hunk.” Pidge said, eyebrows drawn together.

“Oh right, my bad… “ He changed over the correct wires with an ‘Aha!’, before sticking out his tongue and trying to rechannel the remaining ones. Mind in concentration, he mumbled out, ‘but still, not the best example…' 

Pidge rolled her eyes, examining the data being uploaded onto her screen. “Yeah but it’s just an example, right? Like you get it? The icons the Killachromians made were used for killing. Might as well not beat around the bush with a stupid simile to explain it.” 

“And how do you think they activated the power? I just can’t grasp any of it.”

“Probably with magical words, like Harry Potter. That seems to be a pretty typical motif for magic.”

“Alchemy.” 

“Same thing!” 

“No its not, Pidge, and I am very-“ 

“Paladins! Lovely seeing you all here!” Allura and Coran entered with smiles.

“Uhh, you sent us here.” Pidge pointed out. Red shut her out yet again from that area, so Pidge made her way down from Red’s head and moving to her leg and opening up the panel there, hoping for something a little more positive. She wired her computer to the controls, and started rebooting the data once again. 

“Any luck so far?” Allura asked a little excitedly.

Hunk turned to Allura with a large grin, pointing to the Black Lion, wrench in hand. “Well Black is almost completely remodeled, so she should be up and running soon, just needs a bit more time to recharge. Red, on the other hand….” 

“Ow, you son of a bitch!” The heard Pidge scream from the other side of the room, sparks flying.

“Uhm, everything alright Pidge?” Allura questioned, the Green Paladin aggressively waving her hand from the spark of pain.

“Ugh! No! I think I’ve figured out some of the issue, but I need to get access into Red’s control panel, and go further inside. But every time I get close to opening her cockpit, she blocks me out and uses sparks” She gestured wildly at this, “to make me run away. I swear she’s doing it on purpose!” Pidge turned to Red, eyes drawn close, remembering Allura’s first description of Red. “Are you doing it on purpose?”

Pidge swore felt Red purr tauntingly.

“Ughhh!” She rolled her eyes, grabbing her laptop. “Well, little missy! I have other methods!” She slammed the control panel shut and kicked Red’s leg before once again climbing to the top of Red’s head, entering the mind’s panel once again.

“Well this is the Red Lion we’re talking about. She’s very, uh…. Precise over who she lets come close. Honestly, I’m surprised she’s even allowing you on top of her right now.”

Pidge growled again, fingers typing spastically over her keyboard.

“Yah, yah, Red Lion, Angst , Irritable, Instinct and all that jazz. I got close up here last time, so maybe....” She said, hands withdrawn as the data uploaded.

“Hey Hunk! Do you think you can refigure Red’s green and blue wires? I think something may be off, we might have to change them out. And then I can rescan!”

“Aye aye, Captain!” 

* * *

Lance made it back, no surprise, to the room where Keith slept. Something kept pulling him back to wherever Keith was, something forceful and more powerful than simple yearning. 

Who knows, maybe the voice was contagious and it was now calling for Lance to come near Keith. Lance was oddly okay with this thought.

He sat at the bottom of the bed, head in his bandaged arms as he played with the thin blanket on the stiff medical mattress.

Keith was above him, curled up in a tight fetal position, eyebrows drawn and tense as he slept on. He flinched every so often, sleep not coming at all too easily.

Still, Lance watched, the noise of the monitor becoming indistinct as he settled in, relaxing. Blue eyes regarded the sleeping figure, flickering from lips to darkened and long eyelashes, to his pale neck, to his bony cheeks, long hanging bangs, and back again to lips. Lance hummed, regarding the frowning and pouty feature, yet he smiled all the same as he stared at his friend. “ _So beautiful...”_

The other twitched unhappily, beginning to toss himself in his sleep, groaning out. Lance, no longer resisting the urge to touch, placed a hand upward and rubbed what he assumed to be either a hip or thigh. Hey, Keith was on his side, curled up tightly, everything felt the same underneath a blanket. Forgive Lance for not 100% knowing his anatomy.

He rubbed the other’s…. something nearing the side groan area kindly, remaining silent as the heartbeat monitor continued to beep loudly, interrupting Lance’s own thoughts 

It was when Keith mumbled something stressed and incoherent that Lance looked up and away from his bent over position to the monitor itself. He watched, the lines and beeps spiking slightly as the other seemed to be overtaken with a nightmare or bad dream of sorts.

“Hey, Keith, come on buddy. Shhhh, it’s okay.” Lance called out quietly, moving his chair closer to the raven haired boy. 

He brushed the hair out of the Keith’s eyes, petting his bangs with an uninterested expression. The sleeping boy sighed loudly, biting his lip and tossing himself more frantically. In this state his limbs were beginning to get twisted and caught underneath his thin blankets.

“Shhhh, shhh. Keith. Just sleep. You’re safe. It’s okay.” Lance said, brushing his cheeks. Keith sighed, relaxing only slightly underneath the others touch.

From the other room, Pidge tensed. “Huh, that’s weird.” She said to herself as she watched her computer reboot itself and restart the scan.

“What is it?” Hunk called out, still transferring over new wires to Red, the old and frayed ones already out. Pidge had been right, of course; some of the wires in the back of all of Red’s panel were either completely fried or melted…

“You’re not done putting the wires back in, right?” She called out, examining her computer screen. Allura sat beside her, sucking on a box of Space Juice Box (Lance called it a Space Capri Sun, but whatever). They looked to each other as Hunk called out a quipped, “Nope, not yet! Almost done though. Why?”

Allura tilted her head cutely, and then poked herself over Pidge’s shoulder to glance at the screen with interest, reading the on-coming data.

“What? That is… That shouldn’t be happening.” She pointed at the screen and then looked down at the Lion, placing her hand on Red. “She’s purring, you can- you can feel her!” It was only small, so very soft but it was there if she concentrated. Allura let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god!” She called out.

“But Princess, her wires aren’t even in- And this data? This is the closest she’s come to letting me view her controls completely. And see right here? The scan says it’s nearing completion, and that so far almost everything is good to go. Oh wait!" A small mark appeared on the edges of her screen, Pidge regarding it with displeasure. "Except for this little area here,” She pointed to the scan of Red’s body, nearing the control panel inside her head at the cockpit. “There’s something there, but we have to go inside to figure that one out…. But other than that, so far everything looks to be how it should be, even if her wires are out. But – oh no, don't! Aaaaand there it is! She butted me out again, she’s still not allowing in her system completely, dammit! Don’t you know we’re trying to help!? Urgghh!”

“Pidge, stop swearing. And isn’t that a good thing then that we just got the closest we have yet to fixing Red?” Hunk called out from down below, his hand on Red’s paw as he felt the faint warm hum running through her system.

“Yeah, but without the wires, she shouldn’t even be powered on right now, nor even be close to sentient…” Pidge looked down, petting Red’s head thoughtfully. “What is going on with you?”

In the medic bed, Keith cried out, head slamming back into his pillow, tossing wildly as his heartbeat picked up. Lance saw the cold sweat fall down his face. He held the other’s hand, keeping him in place as to not hurt himself further.

He kept hushing the other boy, trying to calm him down as he used to for his siblings, as his mother and Abuela used to do for him.

“Shhh, shh, come on Keith. It’s okay.” Nothing seemed to help him as he cried out, the nightmare getting to him, damaging him further. Lance saw from the corner of his eye the flickering blue light of the dagger, alone on the bedside table further away. Lance gulped, but looked at it with interest. It buzzed openly with a different blue, a more gentle and water like viridian with softer hues and more shine. Lance didn’t gain the fear he usually did when he looked at it, and instead felt an almost protective presence. Keith cried out again, Lance letting go and moving over to the table.

He went to grab it but remained hesitant from the last time he did so, remembering its horrible effects. The other yelped from the bed, heaving in distraction. Lance took a look at his bandaged arms that still felt pain from the burns he suffered, the burns he refused to stay too long in the pods to recover (' _Keith might wake up! I have to be there for that!_ ' He had argued days earlier). He couldn’t help listening to Keith any longer, who was currently biting his lip so hard that blood scribbled down his chin. Even while Lance openly hesitated, he sucked in a breath and clutched his eyes as grabbed the dagger.

Nothing.

With it in his hands and only feeling an amiable buzzing underneath, Lance gave a widened smile to the mostly empty room, hollering an excited, “I did it!” before running back to the bed and holding it to Keith’s chest.

The other subconsciously grabbed for it, whining as he tucked back into a curled position on his side, now holding it like a child’s toy. He still shook, cried out, vibrating from the voice that was probably still trying to get to him.

Hating to just be a bystander watching someone in pain, he sat beside Keith, and doing as he did so last time, he brushed the hair out of his sweat drenched face. He kept his hands on his cheeks, rubbing them and petting his darkened locks. The other didn’t calm as much this time underneath Lance’s grip, so Lance did what he did best. He used his voice, the kind song his own Abuela and Mother had sung to him years before filling the otherwise silent room.

 _“_ _Qué linda manita que tengo yo,_ _  
qué linda y blanquita que Dios me dio.”_

He sung the lullaby quietly and gently, close to Keith’s ear as he stayed laid next to the whining body. He saw Keith’s eyebrows draw together in question, the sound reaching his mind.  
  
‘Qué lindos ojitos que tengo yo,   
qué lindos y negritos que Dios me dio.’ 

He tossed a little more as Lance sung on, but slowly the shaking began to rest, the heart monitor falling with it. Lance smiled softly. He continued brushing the fallen hair, a passing thought over how scraggily it had become, overrun by the words ‘so beautiful’ crossing his field of vision once again.  
  
‘Qué linda boquita que tengo yo,   
qué linda y rojita que Dios me dio.’

Lance saw the other sigh out, pressing his face into the pillow as he relaxed completely. He stopped biting his lip, the blood stopping as he did so. Underneath the others touch, Keith’s breathing fell into a kind rhythm, and Lance knew he was finally out of the rut.  
  
‘Qué lindas patitas que tengo yo,   
qué lindas y gorditas que Dios me dio.’

Lance smiled gracefully, his lullaby fading into the background as the heart beat monitor registered calmly back into his mind.

Happy, Lance leaned forward over Keith’s bed, his cold hands still wrapped around the pale cheeks. 

In a moment that was just for Lance, he placed his lips down to the hairline. So soft and barely felt that Lance didn’t want to tender moment to end. The gentle kiss, so tame, was all he could recognize for miles on end. Time ended for him in that moment, he was so worried he would ruin it, the feeling, the ache, the heat, if he drew it any longer or harder. Keith mumbled something incoherent, moving his head slightly underneath Lance’s hot lips. Lance gave a light chuckle, watching with admiration as he (rather adorably) turned further into his pillow, still asleep. Lance pulled away then, moment gone and lost in a whirlwind of confused memories and contradictive feelings.

“Night, Mullet.” He spoke to himself, pulling the blankets over the others relaxed shoulders and chin. Lance turned away, leaving the room by himself as he turned off the light.

The moment had been just for Lance’s eyes anyways.

During the same time as the lullaby, Pidge could be heard yelping within the hanger, the sudden jerky movement pitching her forward as she felt Red awaken. “What the- No way!”

She began her last scan of Red as Hunk connected the last cord. She watched the computer screen in joy, noting how Red turned on underneath her, allowing her inside the depths of her knowledge that she hadn’t allowed before. Pidge was stunned, unsure of how to understand the news. She pitched forth an excited cry, and Allura clapped her hands. They all felt the power becoming satiated inside the sentient corpse as the last wire connected.

Red allowed Pidge inside her cockpit openly then. When Pidge entered she immediately noticed the tender presence, how Red purred contentedly and quietly. She was happy, and alive, and Pidge wasn't completely sure what had brought her back to being, but she was happy that it had happened. Pidge scanned the last of the equipment inside Red. Any last worry, Hunk and Pidge rewired, scanned, put back together, sanded and oiled, watching with satisfaction as Red buzzed underneath their moving hands. In the background, Hunk and Pidge laughed from feeling their own Lions hum with comfort. Their friend was alive, and now every feeling was that of joy. Hunk noted some other material that needed to be enhanced later on, but otherwise, Red was perfectly good to go as long as Keith was.

They looked to each other, high-fiving before jumping outside the cockpit and back onto the Hangar's grounds.

“Oh my god, Hunk, oh my god! We did it!!” Pidge screamed ecstatically, not entirely sure what happened but happy knowing that Red was being extremely formidable for the time being.

As Red’s eyes pierced open, they felt Black open up as well. The bigger lion had been more frail, so it was similar to someone waking up from a deep sleep, responding slowly to their surroundings. But the headier buzz was there, and they watched as all the Lions moved to all fours, eyes glaring open as they watched each other, roaring together.

Pidge could now say for a fact, that she understood how Green felt when she was perfectly content, her purring entering Pidge’s own mind gratified and gracious.

Pidge, Allura and Hunk all shot over to the control panel, turning on the Castle’s speakerphone as to relay the message to everyone.

“Hey Everyone!” Pidge called out. “We did it! We got the lions working!”

Lance sighed, hearing the alert above his head and noting the others whoops and hollers in the background as he walked slowly down the hallway. He knew the moment it happened, felt Blue rise and the bond becoming a crazed static, frazzled from excitement. Lance had smiled for Blue, feeling her own content of seeing her loved ones okay. But Lance couldn’t help but roll his eyes, glancing between not only Shiro’s silent room, but the hall that led to the medic bay where Keith currently slept alone. ‘ _Great,’_ he thought to himself idly _, ‘now onto Mascalon, the Planet of Fluffballs.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Poor Lance, I'm always hurting my faves...) I should mention that according to the fact that I'm a little Canadian kid (Adult... kinda, I guess, by technicality), I know English and French, I don't have as much knowledge on the Spanish language and culture. Therefore, I imagined Lance singing the lullaby kind of like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW4M7J3tank 
> 
> It's a little clip from Paris Je T'aime (you see, using my french knowledge to aid with my inexperience of Spanish and Cuban culture) >.< Really suggest listening to it, it's super cute and the short film is amazing. 
> 
> Just for funsake and teasing, we're onto the next set of chapters where this fic is more Castle in the Sky inspired rather than Silent Hill PT Demo inspired, haha, but still expect major corniness and cliches every chapter :p Because I adore fluff... As well, the next two chapters, 5 and 6, are my personal favourites, so I'm super excited to see if you guys like them too :D The alchemy, magic and whos using Keith will all be revealed then, as well as given more detail, just in case this chapter wasnt enough/made you confused :)
> 
> And lastly but most importantly, thank you so much to everyone who has read this story so far, left a kudos or a comment, I die every single time I get a notification, every single one makes my day! :) Thanks so much! <3  
> Other wise, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!! :D :)


	5. Under the starry sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Someone's wrist does get broken later on in this chapter. Other Paladins will reset it off screen (but nothing is shown), but there is minor detailing about the break itself.  
> Aaadmittedly, I just want to get this chapter up and I'm on day 4 of day 6 of Doubles, I'm exhausted. I tried editing to the best of my capabilites, but I think there will be some errors that I just didn't catch. I tried, haha. So iff thats the case, let me know, and I'll fix it :) 
> 
> Also, thank you again for all the kudos, reads, and comments, they make my day as I always say! :D I just don't know how much I can express it :) This is when I say that shit starts hitting the fan and the story really begins to progress, I'm excited for it.

After a debate, it was decided the Castle and the Lions would remain in space with Allura, while the Paladins and Coran traveled down to the planet. They were on the edge of Galra territory, and didn’t want to bring forth any unwanted attention.

The group travelled down in the Green Lion, using it’s cloaking device to make less of an interesting impact. Any alarms sounding would just be bad news on their end, especially since they still weren’t all completely better yet.

This hadn’t been a hinder on their plans, however, and the group began their descent. The first thing they noticed was the natural beauty, and how the planet was outright gorgeous. The landscape was overlapped with high mountains and long beautiful and lush valleys. There were rivers and hills and honestly, Lance hit it on the nose wen he said how it was reminiscent of the Shire in the goddamn Lord of the Rings movies, only with more grandiose mountain ranges nearby.

The creatures on Mascalon were exactly that: creatures. They hadn’t yet developed a reminiscent cognitive evolution as the Alteans, Galra, Killachromians, Arulians, Humans or any other sort of highly functioning cognitive being.

No, they were like 8 foot circles of fluff. Some had short poodle like fur, others had long wavy and soft hair. But they were all around the 7-8 feet. A 6’2 Shiro could stand tall and only reach beside their bulky shoulders if he was lucky.

Keith figured they looked kind of like a mix between a lop eared bunny, a hamster, and a cat with the personality of a dog, except more circular. 100% more circular.

They had large dilated eyes that took up most of their face, with the large black and wet button noses situated right in the middle. Their ears were long and floppy, but were strangely shaped like a hunting feline, only hanging downwards.

Lance seemed to laugh when he saw a herd of them wobble around like penguins in excitement, trying to walk quickly to the new comers. Recognizing them from before, one of the herds members, who had soft gray poodle like fur, wobbled up to Hunk and licked him right across the face. Its short balled tail wagged before he fell to his backside, stomach displayed openly as it silently asked for a belly rub, wiggling. 

“So,” Keith began, “They’re giant circular fluffy dogs?” He asked as Hunk rubbed the Mascalons belly. The Hawaiian was making goo-goo sounds to the creature. “Whose a good boy, huh? Whose a good boy?! That’s right you are!” The Mascalon barked back in what could only be described as a low roar. It was obviously happy as it turned onto its four legs, Lance scratching it’s stretched out behind.

“They typically walk on their two feet, since it is easier from their spine development. But they can walk on all fours, especially if they’re excited. The Mascalons are some of the fastest on foot runners from any planet, and can run for 8 times a movement and 14 times more on the Astral conflux. The speed they can reach and weight they can carry is almost unmatched. I’m sure even our Lions would have a hard time winning a race against them.” Coran explained with excitement, being introduced to some new herd members. 

“They’re lasting and loyal companions as long as you treat them right. It’s why they shared such a great bond with the Killachromians. It was said their ancient magic knew just how to give the perfect belly rub.” Coran had informed while rubbing the ears of a different Mascalon, this one with lengthy turquoise blue fur who had perched itself right beside him, head staring up with large and begging eyes while it laid on the ground.

 _'Dammit,’_ Keith thought morbidly. _‘They were cute_.’

“Don’t underestimate them, though.” Coran stated suddenly. “They can also yield Killachromian magic, but instead use their fur as the energy source.”

One of the creatures came right up behind Keith with a snort, nosing his backside asking silently for a pet. He noticed the shaking fur, a light blue aura emitting from beneath and Keith felt the familiar buzz of his slightly glowing dagger. His eyes widened slightly from understanding. They truly did hold the same power, which was interesting in and of itself. Keith made a mental note to ask for possible history textbooks about these creatures when they made it back to the Castle. For now he offered a small smile, petting the creature who made cooing sounds in pleasure.

Even amidst the calming atmosphere, Keith couldn’t help but feel the weight on his knotting shoulders. As much as he tried to ignore it, the sound was back, talking to Keith in its foreign dialect. Now that he figured out its game, Keith put forth all of his energy to ignore it, not allowing it take control of his body. He wouldn’t succumb to its cruel words _yet again._

Coran stepped beside him, an obnoxiously large grin plastered on his face, laughing as he pet 3 more of the creatures. One with each of his arms and even a stretched out leg.

“Oh this reminds me of my days as a young Bridging Cub, traveling around with my other Cub crew before our days as Altean space cadets. We were younger than yourselves then, Paladins, and we were allowed once a year to go off to finish our Confluxical Training. We learned to hunt, start a fire, cook food, you know, all that young bridging cub stuff! We spent one entire astral flux here, learning to herd the beasts and gain their loyalty!” Coran barked out a laugh, petting six more of the creatures who were licking him front right and center. 

“Oh hello Jazel, and Barkley, and oh my! Is that you little Kiahzen?! Last I saw you you were fresh into the world, just barely able to stand! I helped deliver you, even! Where is you mother! Such a strong girl that one!” He smiled widely.

Kaihzen stood the largest and most proud of the bunch, kissing Coran’s face proudly, Keith noticed.

Shiro was the one to step inbetween the incoming herd and stop Coran’s rant. “Coran, I thinks its best we head over to Yldamyreshbjorgk’s quarters, we need to find out more about this alchemy before it’s too late.” He snuck a quick glance at Keith, who only offered him a rude finger gesture in return. Shiro snickered, turning back to the Space Uncle.

Coran looked absolutely gutted by this, his obnoxious petting slowing down on wet noses. “Alright, I do believe you’re right. Goodbye for now, Gorald, and Karylx, and Magmers! I’ll see you all soon! Now stay put!” He said waving goodbye to the whimpering animals. Their cries continued as the Paladins walked away, but they didn’t once move from their positions as per Coran’s request.

“They’ve been trained well,” Shiro admitted astonished, walking up the hill on the overgrown path.

“Why yes!” Coran expressed excitedly, his hand almost hitting Pidge in the face. “Yldamyreshbjorgk is one of the most trusted trainers of the Mascalons, and has since moved to this planet to help the sick or elderly creatures. But we just call him Ylda for short.”

The Paladins sighed, not even knowing how to approach a name such as that. (It’s Ilda-myer-sh-gah-bork, exactly as it sounds! Haven’t you paladins been paying attention to what I’ve been saying?) 

The voice was becoming louder, growing more intense. Keith shuttered as they walked over the valley’s foothills, flowers blooming with lovely vibrant colours over the soft ground.

Lance walked up to Keith, ignoring Coran’s latest rant about how him and Yildaamah.. whatever his name was, met.

“How are you doing?” Lance started carefully, his scarred hands in the depths of his pockets. Keith winced at the sympathy in his voice, wordlessly hating it. It wasn’t the Lance he was used to. He appreciated the sentiment, but a good old competition and yelling spree would do Keith mounds of good rather than this worry Lance continued to parade around.

“I’m fine,” Keith frowned. ‘You?”

“Me? Oh, well, I’m just golden!”

Keith smirked with an evil glee hinted in his face. If Lance wasn’t going to act normal, at least Keith sure as hell could. “With that haircut you got, I’d say you’re anything less then golden.”

“Hey!” Keith laughed, dodging the incoming smack from Lance. “I got this haircut because somebodyyy couldn’t keep control of their own body and had to be saved from the depths of their own despair!”

“More like the depths of a quintessence power outage, but go on.”

And so Lance did, chuckling and this time landing a dull slap against Keith’s shoulder.

“Well at least my hair isn’t so long it needs to be kept in a ponytail 24/7. I mean, it’s a cute look and all, for a 7 year old girl. But if you can pull off the shaggy hair and bedroom eyes, you should at least go for it some of the time!”

The pestering dialogue quietly faded away, as it did every time Lance was around and was speaking. It usually lingered, softening in the background when others were present. But Lance seemed to have a knack for out right destroying it, forcing it into hiding on occasion.

Keith was silently yet eternally grateful. He could actually hear his own thoughts, as well as normal everyday sounds that had been so lacking in his present life.

“Maybe I like looking like a 7 year old girl, did you ever think of that” Keith retorted, grimacing at his own lack of comeback. Man, his social bickering skills needed work, he thought reminiscently. He pulled at the hair on the back of his head, tugging at the ponytail. Sure, his hair was getting a little long, but Keith usually kept it down. It was only as of late with the voice that Keith had started pulling strands out from anxiety. He hadn’t noticed what he was doing until a little later. When his hair was pulled back, Keith felt less of a need to pull on it.

“Interesting fashion choice then, Keith.” Lance winked. The walked side by side, hands brushing against the other every so often. They pretended like they hadn’t noticed, though, as they fell into a harmless bickering match, laughing while expressing their thoughts on the Mascalons.

“I bet Sparky could beat them in a race!”

“No way! Coran even said our Lions would have a problem beating them, I don’t think Sparky would last even a second!”

“Dios mio, Keith, you obviously haven’t met Sparky then. That dog is a stallion!”

 Keith huffed out a breathe, reaching the top of a lengthy and precarious foot hill. Their path was completely built up with large shapely rocks and boulders, shaking a little underneath the new weight of the Paladins feet. “Whatever, idiot” Keith said idly.

Lance was quiet for another minute, Keith offering hesitant glances over his shoulder as he concentrated on climbing from boulder to boulder. He decided it then, and tugged at his hair, finally pulling it out. He felt calm enough around Lance to do so, and Lance didn’t seem to miss the sentiment, a wild blush painting his face as they made it to the top, boulders stopping and parting way from a flattened path downhill.

“Do you think Sparky misses me? Lance asked rather sullenly which had been a surprise. Keith almost stopped in his tracks, but continued walking. Jokes aside, Keith reached up this time to touch Lance’s shoulder.

“From what it sounds like, I think Sparky is missing you too.”

“Really? Why do you say that?”

“He’s your dog, right, Lance? You took care of him and trained him. So he’s loyal to you. I’m sure he’s missing you with all that he has. He’s a dog, that’s what dogs do.”

Lance sighed, not sure he really believed it.

“Yah, I just hope Sebastian is taking good care of him, feeding him his right kibble like I told him too...”

Keith grimaced, mentioning of family forcing Keith into an area he didn’t know how to handle. “I’m sure he is.” He tried out, rolling his tongue slowly over the new and hesitant words. “Even light years away, I’m sure he wouldn’t disobey his older brother… I think he cares too much about you to do that.”

Lance suddenly looked up from the ground. “Huh?”

Keith shrugged, still walking a head and not offering Lance a passing glance. “You’re missing him too, aren’t you? Him, your mom and grandmother?”

“Abuela,” Lance stuttered out, informing Keith of the correct term.

“Right, your Abuela, sorry… But they sound like great people Lance. I may not completely get it, but I know it hurts. It seems like it hurts Pidge, Hunk and Shiro a lot too, so you’re not alone.”

“Jeez, thanks, Keith.” Lance said sarcastically, not really feeling much better about his situation. “How far away do you think we are from Earth anyway? And like, how long have we been gone for? My sister in law was pregnant before I left, do you think I have a niece or nephew yet? Oh my god, do you think I missed the birth of my first niece or nephew!?”

Keith sighed and pinched his nose. “I don’t know. But all of this is happening for a reason, I’m sure they’ll forgive you when we get back down to Earth.” 

“ _If_ we get back down to Earth,” Lance emphasized. 

“No, Lance.” Keith stopped, grabbing Lances wrist and turning to him sharply. “ _When_ we get back down to Earth.” Lance felt his heart tug at the sincerity in that unwavering tone. There was a passion Lance could see behind Keith's eyes, had seen so many times before even back in the Garrison, and Lance couldn’t help but feel relief. Whatever Mullet decided to focus on, all of his determination was poured into that one goal. If that goal was to get the Paladins back to earth, at least to explain their proper where abouts and what actually happened, and ‘why-hello-yes-mother-yes-I’m-not-actually-dead-thank-you-very-much-fox-news-for-that-false-information’, then Lance trusted Keith to make it happen.

“Thanks, Keith.” Lance spoke, feeling Keith’s thumb trace the edge of his bony wrist.

“Yo Romeo, Juliet! Get your asses down here!” Pidge yelled out from the bottom of the hill. Keith and Lance turned away from their silent conversation, looking down abashedly towards their peers. They all gave the two boys a knowing look, something which Lance coughed over and yelled, “Que chingados?! Pidge?! Th-hat’s not even a reference that applies to us! We’re not some lovers from rival families trying to piss our parents off!”

“Good ole’ teenage rebellion.” Keith whispered out to himself, laughing as he watched Lance start to run down the hill, yelling random obscenities at Pidge. 

“Calláte!” 

Pidge grinned with an evil preen, “You may not be lovers from rival families, but you sure are star-crossed idiots!” she yelled back.

“Besa mi culo!”

Further in the valley a wooden cabin sat perched near a riverbed, the sun beginning to set in the background. There was a ranch like structure beside it, with herded Mascalons inside, eating the grass from their three clawed hands, sitting on their poofy butts.

There was smoke emitting from the house, detailing that someone was home.

With Lance away, Keith began walking slower down the hill. A burst of pain erupted into his head, the voice literally charging back through screamed shouts. 

Keith placed a hand over one of his ears, moving forward as the Paladins called for him to hurry up. It felt like an actual ambush inside his brain, jumbling it all into unsteady fragments.

The disorientation was horrible. 

He made it down to the group with a scowl. “What’s the matter?” Shiro immediately asked concerned.

“Just, just the voice.” Keith admitted out of breath, still holding the side of his head. “It’s angry and loud.”

Lance _hmmed_ emphatically, latching onto Keith’s arm and the voice shockingly erupted into static at that, arriving in Keith’s ear through cursed intervals. “Well then we can’t just wait around, we need to scaddaddle! Onwards and upwards to this guy who may or may not be able to help Keith! … Come on!” He shouted, dragging the raven haired boy forward. Keith, allowing himself to be dragged with the warmth of Lance’s hand easing the heated pain of the voice, was once again silently and eternally grateful for having the other boy near. 

* * *

 

Ylda was a tall, lean, and stoic figure. He held himself with a wise maturity through his slim and elderly body body. He had the slightest of humps, but one wouldn’t have noticed by his posture had Coran not pointed it out. He had soft and kind eyes, smile folding with wrinkles.

Like the Mascalons, Ylda was tall, probably reaching 7 ft. 5. His hand was fitted around a cane, apparently from an extremely old injury from his first days alongside the Mascalons. 

The long pointed ears, piercing red eyes, gorgeous silk robe and perfectly white shoulder length hair had put Keith a little on edge though.

The group sat in Ylda’s humble cottage. It was like the shack, but more homely and large. He had a single comfy bed on a wooden frame, a large dinning table that he had made himself, a large imprinted red carpet, and the fireplace was alive and playfully flickering its flames in the background.

When they first arrived, Coran made a big fuss of an entrance. Ylda had laughed softly, saying how it had only been a few short moments since they last had seen each other. The two caught up as the others sat down, Keith in one of the extensively sized chairs at the long table beside Lance and Coran. Shiro sat perched on the bed in the corner, while Pidge and Hunk sat cross-legged on the carpet beside the ongoing fire.

Coran and Ylda reminisced, talking about the days of their past, and ‘ _oh, how is your sister doing?”_

_‘Still quite unwell, but I’m sure time will present itself with a cure.’_

Keith hadn’t liked the way the red eyes traveled over him as he said this, but Keith tried to brush it off. He hadn’t wanted to make a scene, especially in front of a childhood friend of Corans (even if the man continued to look at Keith, examining him sharply.)

Until finally, “It feels like the beginnings of a migraine, doesn’t it young Paladin?” Ylda spoke serenely.

He poured cup of what look and smelled to be a sort chamomile tea, and gracefully handed it to Keith with his long and bony fingers. Keith watched steam rising from the palm sized cup, rather than the perfectly kept nails that had taken their time to remove themselves from the object, lingering over Keith’s own palms just a moment too long. 

“Thank you,” Keith whispered, the pain growing more gradually. If he moved his jaw in a certain way the pain would spike. 

And concentrating now was hell.

Ylda, never blinking, sat down on the other side of the table “It’s trying to get to you. It knows it has been completely outted and is now trying to impact you in different ways. I see the strain in your eyes, young Paladin."

Ylda spoke softly as he looked at Coran. “I assume this is why you’ve come?”

Coran grumbled as he nodded, his fingertips playing anxiously with his moustache. “Yes, our state has been very dire, Ylda. We were hoping you could offer some advice.” 

Ylda sighed, a sign that Keith wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

“I only know so much, so I promise that I’ll offer the knowledge I do have. However, please do not be offended if it is not what you seek.”

Ylda then spoke towards Keith, sitting back in his chair with his rigid posture.

“And please know, young Paladin, that you are very strong. Not many would have made it this far without being overtaken.”

Keith cleared his throat at that, straightening himself in his seat under Ylda’s scrutinizing gaze. “It hasn’t all been me. Most of the time the others help me out, bring me back.”

“I see,” Ylda looked around the room, eyes seeming to spark a keen interest in Lance before turning again to Keith. “Is the voice quieter when your friends are around?”

Keith nodded.

“Has the sound ever been completely silent?” He then asked, yet seeming to know the answer.

Keith nodded again.

“When is that?” Ylda drawled out.

Keith bit his lip, shyly pointing to Lance. “It’s quiet and safe when he’s around. It doesn’t seem to like him, or something, and mostly goes away until he leaves…” 

Ylda hummed at this, pouring another cup of tea and offering it to the Blue Paladin. Lance, however, completely missed the offering from the elderly hands, instead choosing to stare at Keith with a mix of genuine impression and complete shock. Lance had hoped, even dreamed as much, but never had expected that to be a reason.

The voice left sometimes when Lance was close?

Huh.

“You use friendship, family, and love as a defence. It can’t harm you when you feel safe.” Ylda explained looking through the group. He tuned back to Lance then, eyes growing darker.

“And you hold a strong power, Blue Paladin. You know when the right words need to be spoken. You diffuse tension, aid in diplomatic positions, and have a keen sense for dire situations; A true connoisseur as far as I can tell.” 

Pidge snorted loudly from the ground at this. Lance gave her side eyed glare but sadly had to agree with her.

“I don’t really know about that, Sir. I just sort of babble until I don’t want to babble anymore, or move onto my next babbling subject. So, master pioneer with the way of words? Not so much.” 

“You think less of yourself, Blue Paladin. Do not allow that to happen, or else the same thing may happen to you that is occurring to Red.” 

Coran quirked a large eyebrow and piped up at this. “Wait, are you saying that Keith is hearing voices be he thinks less of himself?! Because I can assure you, that cocky lil’ bugger hasn’t had a moment of self doubt since piloting Red from mines eye!”

Keith’s eye rolled at this completely false statement. Ylda luckily seemed to pick up on this fact.

“No, not necessarily, Coran. A more tired mind from battling inner demons allows more paths to be left opened, permitting further pain. Allow yourself to remain open, and someone will benefit. As well, not all appearances are as they seem, Coran. You know this,” He said sharply removing his predatory gaze from Keith. 

Ylda turned to Coran in his heightened seat. “You know as much as I do that the remaining Killachromian magic is dark, Coran. If used, it will not be from the hands of good. Young Keith here can attest to that much. And while it was not his fault, the alchemic was attracted to him over everyone else. Now the question is, why?” 

The room appeared strained at the statement.

Coran moved to Keith, a hand on his shoulder.

“Go ahead, Keith. Show him your dagger.”

It took a few moments to unbuckle and move around, but finally Keith brought out the sheathed weapon, placing it with a dull thud on the table. 

Ylda appeared intrigued. Disconcertingly intrigued. With his eyes glued to the dagger, his hands glossed over the piece without every touching it, almost frightened.

“This dagger is an ancient Killachromian artifact, young Paladin. Where did you get this?”

Keith shrugged, eyebrows knotted together with guilt. “It was my Mothers, she gave it to me.”

“Hmm,” Ylda said. “You appear to have a much more sinister history than you let on, Keith. Tell me, what did your mother say when she gave it to you?”

Keith shrugged again. “I don’t remember her giving it to me. It was just always there, her presence with it, you know? I- I, when everything happened, when they brought me to the orphanage, I just had it with me. She never directly gave it to me. I just knew it was hers.”

Ylda nodded absently at the information. “You subconsciously sought it out, then. It has a valuable connection to you, but Coran is correct. It was made by the ancient Killachromians, however, the alchemic properties have been transfigured into dark alchemy by whoever is speaking with Keith.”

Hunk groaned, palms to his face. “But, I’m sorry Mr- err, Sir Ylda, but we already knew all that. And the voice is using the dagger as its connection to Keith so it can get power for some reason. So what do we do? Leave the dagger behind? How do we know –“ 

“Do not leave the dagger behind!” Ylda shouted enraged, standing up and slamming his hand on the wooden edge. “You foolish children,” he sneered, and Keith could see the fangs emitting from the sides. “It has already made a connection to Keith, even if you leave the dagger behind the connection will remain lasting. The only way is to destroy it.”

“And how do we do that?” Keith yelled back, equally as angry since Ylda had just spoken to Hunk with such a tone. No one does that to Hunk. 

“Your history is more extensive than you think, Red Paladin. When the time is right, you’ll know what to do.”

Keith glared, This man was no help at all. In fact, his headache had only worsened through his dry goddamn lecture.

“I see,” Coran stated, starting to get up with a frown. “Unfortunately for us Ylda, time is ticking and we cannot wait another nano-tick.”

“I’m sure we can figure something out, Coran.” Ylda insisted, standing suddenly and walking strangely calm over to the other. “Please, just sit and calm down. I have only made everyone on edge. For that I apologize. However, please understand. If that dagger is left behind, it will be used for destruction, with or without Keith.”

Coran adjusted his moustache and patted Ylda on the chest, once again standing up.

“I fear our time here is up, my friend. We must be leaving, can’t allow Allura to be running the Castle all on her own again. God knows the games she comes up with in the silence. Truly maddening.”

Coran began to approach the door, some of the others following his footsteps and beginning to leave as well. “It was truly nice seeing you, and thank you for the quick welcoming and the tea, but we need an ailment. Thank you for your help, dear friend, but-“

“Coran, please, stay here a little while longer.” Ylda said, his first time moving quickly and placing his hand over the door. He was now hovering over Coran, his arms much stronger than first imagined when Shiro tried to unlatch the handle but couldn’t make a budge in the door.

“Why don’t you stay?” Ylda pressed on. “It has been so long. Please, sit, have another cup of tea.” He grabbed the pot of boiling water from his side, pushing it slowly towards the Altean. “I know how much you enjoy it.” 

“Coran?” Lance called out in a stressful tone. Keith could tell that Lance felt on edge, and he didn’t trust this guy either. Keith remained seated, the loud sounds making him grimace.

“Please Paladins, just one more drink, between friends.”

“I suppose one drink wouldn’t hurt,”

Lance jumped up from his seat, pushing himself between Coran and Ylda.

“I think Allura wanted us back by now,” He stated, glaring right up to Ylda. The height difference didn’t seem to deter Lance’s determination in any way, rather enforced it, it seemed. “So thank you for your advice, but we really must be going-“

“No, please stay, just a little longer. I’m sure Allura could enjoy a few more moments of solitude.”

Lance arched an eyebrow at the repeated phrasing, glancing at Shiro who held a similar skeptical expression.

Lance couldn’t take it. He threw his arms up in the air, pressing a pointed finger straight into Ylda’s luxurious laced dress gown, hitting the boney chest. “Why are you wanting us to stay a little longer? This entire thing feels like a hoax. What are you up to?” Lance shouted, backing the elderly Ylda against a corner. 

“Lance, how dare you speak to our friend in such a way!” Coran reprimanded horrified.

But Ylda only laughed with a hearty sound.

“Oh, just like I said, Blue paladin. You have a way with situations, a true connisseur.”

Ylda then latched onto Lance’s wrist. He twisted it painfully, breaking the bone.

“AAhhHH!!!!” Lance screamed, falling onto his knees and holding his wrist.

“Lance!” both Keith and Shiro shouted simultaneously.

Pidge was the first one to draw her bayard, trying to activate it. But it came to no use; the bayard never appeared.

“Nice try, Green Paladin.” Ylda spoke, glancing down at his handwork of Lance’s wrist as though intoxicated by it. “But I’ve withdrawn the quintessence in the room. Your bayards and Altean technology will not work here any longer.”

“Youre- you’re a Killachromian?” Hunk shouted out.

“Not a Killachromian, I just yield their alchemy. Why do you think the Mascalons favour me so?”

Sirens blasted in the distance, noise hovering over the cabin as a terrible wind swept through.

“Dear friend,” Coran whispered, looking between Lance gasping on the ground and Ylda. “What have you done?”

Ylda stared menacingly. “What I had to.” 

He stepped away immediately, drawing his hand away from the doorway. The front entrance slammed open from the oncoming gusts, and everyone could see the Galra ships orbiting in the distant sky. It had become dark out, the stars and near full moon emitting the nice light in the atmosphere, against the harsh greens and reds of the oncoming Galra ships. 

“Shit,” Shiro said. “We need to get out of here!”

Keith jumped up towards Lance, helping him up even as he sniffled back tears from the pain. Keith winced as he noticed how Lance was biting his lip to keep from yelping.

“How could you!” Coran yelled out. “We were best friends, we went through cubs and space cadets together, we-”

Ylda hung his head low, his white silvery hair falling gracefully over his shoulders. “I know Coran, but… They know about the alchemy I yield. They’ve threatened to kill me alongside the Mascalons. And-and my sister, she’s still sick, she won’t survive back on our planet without me. They offered me my own life and my sisters if I aided them, as well as leaving the Mascalons alone…”

“’l’ll never forgive you,” Coran said, moving past Ylda who remained still against the wall.

“I hope one day you will.”

The Paladins ran outside. The herds of Mascalons in the field were growling upwards towards the sky, fur lifting up on edge. They roared at the incoming ships, large fangs drawing out from their gums in agitation. Their eyes morphed into a sinister crimson, as if that would do anything to scare away the oncoming ships. 

Keith stood behind Lance, watching as the other babied his wrist. He had his hands wrapped around Lance’s other arm, steadying him.

Keith felt leaves brushed past his hair, dirt impacting his face as the ships neared.

The light beams turned on, directly centering on the youths.

“Fuck,” Shiro yelled out again. “It was trap, he knew we were coming!”

“Come on! We have to go!” Coran shouted too, grabbing Hunk and Pidge and beginning to run the opposite direction. 

“We have to get to Green!”

They left their suits on Green, their one communicator to Allura. How stupid were they? Luckily Pidge had left Green masked over with her cloaking device, so they felt safe in that sense from the Galra.

The lights remained on them even as they ran as quickly as possible.

They heard the shots of fire before seeing the direct hits in the ground.

“We wont make it, they’re too fast!” Pidge screamed, still holding her bayard hoping to activate it. How far away had Ylda withdrawn the quintessence? Surely it hadn’t have been the entire planet.

Shots and lasers continued on, surrounding the Paladins with debris and soot from the collapsing trees and detonated rocks.

A large roaring struck their ears over the oncoming ambush.

On top of the mountains side where they had first arrived, the entire roaming and familiar herds of Mascalons stood on their 4 feet, the deafening combined roars were earsplitting, even effectively cutting off the voice from Keith. 

They stood huddled together, an army of Mascalon so vast that they crowded the entire moutainside.

And all at once, as though they were in a strange sci-fi movie, a glowing aura began to emit from the herd, their fur fluffling up into spikes. The beam that shot up in a holy mass had been an awestruck purple, hitting the Galra directly. The light was so blinding it had made the Paladins stop directly in their tracks, unable to see even a foot forward.

They saw nothing, except for one Mascalon. The leader, as it seemed, roared ferociously and viciously as it charged towards them, jumping down the hill with its claws extended.

“Kiahzen!” Coran shouted towards it, the short and soft furred Mascalon from earlier bounding down the mountainside. It’s fangs hung out over its foaming mouth, the purple glow fading away as it darted down the hill, dodging every laser beam and gun shot with intense skill and beauty. 

As the light faded and the night sky returned, Keith watched as it moved towards them in anger. It jumped on the last foothill near Ylda’s house, landing directly in front of the group.

Kiahzen roared as it laid low, pressing its stomach to the ground. It looked at the group, offering its side to the Paladins.

“What is it doing?” Pidge shouted through her confusion.

“Kiahzen wants us to ride him! Hurry up! Best not to allow a Mascalon to linger from its Doried Berries, as they say!”

Another laser beam darted towards the group, and Keith didn’t wait another second. He gripped tightly to Lance’s arm, forcing him forward and up the Mascalon before himself. Pidge and Coran grabbed under his arms to help him up while Keith had his foot in his hand, waiting until Lance was properly and safely up to let go.

The Mascalon growled and and shot up, another gun shot grazing it’s fur.

It roared in anger, getting ready to dash. 

“Hurry up, Keith!” Shiro shouted. Turning once more to look at the horizon, Keith jumped onto the Mascalon, barely gaining a clutch onto the fur before it darted off. It took a while but he roughly climbed up, until he reached behind Lance and sat in front of Shiro who had made room for him at the back of Kiahzen. Keith encircled his arms around Lance’s waist, hanging onto the fur in front of the other’s thighs. Keith held him as if he were a seatbelt, not allowing the other to fall off.

Lance seemed content with this, back falling into the crease of Keith’s chest since he couldn’t hold himself in place. Tears continued to fall as the movement and speed of the Mascalon was knocking his wrist, furthering the damage and pain of the broken bone.

Face nearing Lance’s shoulder tiredly, mouth pressing into the others shirt, Keith lazily turned to look at the other direction.

In the hazy distance, Keith noticed the fire overtaking Ylda’s wooden home, smoke traveling towards the stars.

The Galra had landed, and Keith didn’t want to think about the other’s outcome.

* * *

After spending an hour and a half riding bareback on a Mascalon, Keith agreed with Coran’s earlier statement: Their lions would probably not win in a race against them. Not only were their eyes tremendously good in the dark, they also had longevity on their side and could keep up their increasing pace.

The Masacalon had taken them far away, over a lake and up a mountains peak. They landed on the outside of a large caved entrance, vines from the hovering trees blocking it like a doorway.

“Wow,” Pidge breathed, jumping from Kiahzen. She patted the creature, nicking it right behind the ears as it hummed in joy. 

Hunk fell off entirely and none too gracefully, muscles tight and sore from holding on. He looked pale, grabbing a hold of his mouth before excusing himself around the corner aid his nausea.

Shiro and Keith slid off. Much like Hunk, their muscles were tight and sore, needing to stretch after their landing. Keith, though, ignored his own body’s wishes and immediately turned back to Lance, offering his arms to help the other down. Lance took his offer, more falling on top of Keith than sliding down. Keith hadn’t minded though, and steadied the other onto his feet.

“How are you doing?” Keith asked, gently grabbing around the other’s broken wrist. Lance hissed and reflex told him to snatch it away. Keith grabbed his arm back with a groan, continuing to analyze the wound. 

“Not well,” Lance said shakily. He looked pale and was probably now in a state off shock. He was only human, Keith thought. “I kind of want to throw up, too.” Lance admitted sheepishly.

“We need to reset it.” Keith murmured, not looking forward to that. He hated first-aid kind of stuff, and especially broken bones. His own were fine, he’d reset that any day over someone else. But seeing the pained face of another, especially Lance? Yeah, Keith didn’t like that thought.

Kiahzen huffed out a growl, barking towards the group as he stood up.

“Thank you, Kiahzen! We’ll made sure to return the favour one day!” Coran shouted. Kiahzen roared in what could be understood as a happy tone, even though it’s sharp fangs continued to hang out. The Mascalon nodded and bowed its head towards them, jumping from the mountains side and darting away towards its herd, even faster now without the extra weight. It disappeared in seconds.

Looking out on the vast and mountainous horizon, the Paladins could no longer see or even hear the Galra ships, and assumed themselves to be safe for mean time.

The mountainside, while ridged, still held a large amount of shrubs and strangely shaped trees. A large weeping willow held itself over the cave, it’s pink and blue leaves shadowing the entrance iconically. The place held a strange feeling over it, sending shivers down Keith’s spine. It was probably once a place of spiritual rituals, he guessed, as it held that sort of tone.

Keith looked around, grabbing a hefty sized leaf and snapping a piece branch from one of the smaller size shrubs.

He turned back to Lance who sat cross-legged on the ground, shaking. “Shiro, can you help me with this?” Shiro turned to Keith and nodded, taking Keith’s supplies and beginning to twist it into a splint like shape. Lance saw the two approaching him and gulped.

“Ahh! Stay away from me!” He shouted as he darted away.

“Oh no you don’t! Get back here!”

Hunk came back from his nausea session feeling much better, turning to Pidge and Coran.

The three looked towards the cave and its masked yet enchanting entrance. There were actually a few more weeping willow type trees, all protecting the cave and it’s surrounding, blanketing it from the outside world.

“How are we going to contact Allura?” Hunk asked quietly, walking towards the door. “Or the Green Lion?”

Pidge touched the brushing leaves, moving them out of the way to look inside. Using her now active bayard, she used it’s green fluorescent light to look around the dark insides.

“I already have,” Coran spoke calmly, following Pidge inside. “I always keep my communicator with me, and I just sent her a message about our current where abouts a few moments ago. She seems alright from her reply. She saw the ships arriving to Mascalon and was very worried for us. I told her to keep in hiding until I told her our location. She’ll be her within the night.”

Pidge began digging a small hole in the ground, searching around for fallen branches, logs and leaves to start a fire. She placed everything she found down expertly and in a boxed pattern, noting Corans and Hunks confused expressions. Pidge shrugged. “If you lay the logs and branches like this, it’ll last longer. At least, that’s what my Dad taught me...” Pidge sat on the log, folding her arms around herself at the thought. 

Hunk nodded, grabbing a few minor things for the kindling. Pressing sticks together and with a quick spark, the fire started with a roar.

The warmth and smell of the sulfur overtook the cave, calming everyone like meditation as they watched the flames.

“Hey Coran? Hunk started kindly, “I uhm, I’m sorry about your friend.” He watched as Coran remained muted, holding himself with reserve.

“Me too.”

And with the fire started, they sat around quietly and unmoving, the breeze of the cave whistling like music in the background. Lance, Shiro, and Keith entered a while later, Keith looking exasperated while Shiro seemed to be silently giggling. Lance just looked plain old annoyed.

“That took a while.” Pidge had said.

“The idiot broke three different splints. Every time we got close to resetting his wrist, he’d cry and tear his hand away, which made it worse, idiot! The last time he actually ran away. We had to take tackle him to the ground and sit on him to actually get him to comply.” Keith ranted with a cross of his arms.

Shiro rolled his eyes, coughing out a hushed, ‘Keith did it’ as he sat down alongside his group.

“Yeah, tackling the invalid, great method Keith.” Lance bickered out, but looking much better and more calm since having his wrist first broken.

They had made a faux cast and splint from the wood and broad leaves, which wrapped around Lance’s hand. If Pidge looked close enough, she could still see the faint remnants of the burns from a while ago. They had just removed the bandages before entering Mascalon, since Lance had finally agreed to spending some time in the crypod now that Keith had been awake and was left as relatively unharmed.

Everyone sat, huddled and around the fire, quiet and observing, waiting for Allura to rescue them.

Keith felt the presence hang in the air. He watched the entrance like a predator, waiting for any signs that the Galra knew of their hiding spot.

If he was being honest, he was too scared, too panicked, too shocked to notice anything else. He sat with his knees up to his chest, his arms surrounding them for warmth. He looked at Lance, who laid beside him on his back, legs out and spread. His bandaged arm was hanging over his closed eyes, while the other was outstretched, near Keith. Shakily, Keith removed one of his hands from leg, slowly placing his palm over the other’s hand.

If he didn’t know any better, he swore he saw Lance’s disinterested expression turn into a small smile.

With Lance nearby, the voice was gone, but the presence was still around which was unusual. It was particularly loud, and the throbbing of Keith’s head hadn’t stopped. He was sure his neck was forming knots by the strain of all this.

He felt it surround him, the lingering presence flowing in its way into the chamber like a spring stream.

A drop of sweat ran down his face and he felt the familiar trace of a phantom finger, this time making contact and grabbing him with a cold press of a dead hand. He turned, seeing a blue transparent figure floating in front of him.

His heart stopped when he heard the words,

“Hello paladins,”

It was the voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Duhn Duhn DUHHHNNNN!!!!!!!
> 
> We finally meet the voice! But who is it? Find out next week :)
> 
> Also: Que chingados - What the fuck  
> Calláte - Shut Up  
> Besa mi culo - Kiss my ass - Again, my Spanish is limited, I hope these are right.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter :) Let me know your thoughts! :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, two OCs take the spotlight in this chapter, I hope that is okay?? These are just personal headcanons, or if I was a show runner how things would go (probably a good thing I'm not a showrunner!). Also, I've never watched any older Voltrons, so this will differ from those plotlines. Hope you enjoy, no warnings to give out this time around :)
> 
> But finally and most importantly- Everyone, please get ready and prepare yourselves to meet *dun dun dunnnnn* THE VOIIICEEEE! :) Who is it? What do they want? Why Keith? Well, lets find out together! :D EN GUARD!

She stood in front of them, the blue outlines of her more humanly figure glowing firmly. She appeared as a spirit: transparent, calm, devoid of emotion and human physicality.

Keith jumped up at the same time as everyone else. Lance remained moving groggily on the floor, blearily looking around as he sat up. “Hey, where’s everyone going? What’s going on?” he asked through a yawn and a hand rubbing his eye.

She approached Lance, stepping right beside him before he saw her, felt her cool air hovering around himself, and promptly screamed.

“AHHHH!” He exclaimed as he shot up and landed none to gracefully behind Keith, grabbing onto the others outstretched arms.

“Who are you?!” Lance shrieked, hiding himself more behind Keith's angered stance.

The spirit offered a smile, looking over everyone accusingly. “I am merely a spirit now, likened to a God but a lesser. I see all, hear all, and know all. But this was not my fate.” She spoke with a mystified voice. She then turned directly to Keith.

“We have a special connection, Paladin.”

Keith sneered, pointing rudely towards the woman. “You’re her. You’re the voice!”

She smiled viciously, a hint of distrust behind her blue outlined eyes. “I apologize for my violent ways, Paladin. However, I did have my reasons: You and I share a connection, a bond much closer than you presume to believe.”

Keith spoke again undeterred by her words. “Who are you?”

Her smile broadened, her crisp straight hair moving languidly over her broad shoulders. “Perhaps you should allow your Lion to make an entrance, and then you’ll realize who I truly am.”

“What?” He asked, sick of all the riddles. Couldn’t someone just say something blunt for once and get everything over with? Beating around the bush wasn't his cup of tea.

Coran stepped forward, his hand moving Keith behind him as astonishment overtook his eyes. “Mi-Jung? Is that really you?”

She growled at the Altean. “Delora Chaines now, Coran. You knew that. You were at wedding and the separation.”

“But that was over 10,000 years ago. You’re a human, this never should have happened!”

“Talking to the choir, Coran. I know.” She spoke with her mystified yet annoyed toned. “After yourself and Allura went to sleep, situations occurred, my daughter was attacked. I did what I had to do and now I remain here as punishment.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Hunk started, walking straight towards the blue spirit. He took a good look directly in front of her. She stepped back and sneered at him with her teeth, obviously wanting to slap him if she had the physicality to do so.

Hunk noticed that she was definitely a middle aged human, towering on senior but not quite. She had a sinister and commanding look to her, someone not to be messed with.

“So,” He turned Coran. “You,” He turned back to the spirit. “And you, Ohhhhh, I see, I see.” nodding his head as he put his hands together with a slap.

Keith sighed with exasperation. “Understand what?! They haven’t said anything!”

“Dude, be nice to her. She's like… well I don’t know what she is to you, but she’s the last Red Paladin,” He said with a hand over his mouth, turned towards the group and away from the spirit. He was acting as though he was whispering, and pointed to Mijung… or Delora, through his opened palm.

She arched an eyebrow. “You realize that I am a spirit right? I know and see all, so I know that you’re talking about me even if you have your back turned to me.”

Hunk flushed. “Oh, right. Yup, sorry about that.” He offered with a hesitant bow and fell back in line with his crew. He moved to stand beside Keith, the smaller one baring crossed arms over his defensive stance.

“So you’re the last pilot of Red, then?” Keith pointed out none too kindly.

“Very clever, didn’t need that one literally stated out for you at all.” Yup, Hunk thought with gulp. there was definitely a military persona inside of her, reminding him of Iverson at the Garrison.

With a sigh and a fall of her shoulders, she turned to Keith, relief somewhat evident through her body language. “Yes, I am Red’s previous Paladin from 10,000 years ago. The last one to control her. Impulsive, relies more on instinct than thought process, fast, that was me all those years ago.”

“So you’re a human then, or at least was?” Pidge asked a little disconcerned for the elder.

“’ _Was_ ’ is the correct statement. My spirit has been placed here, trapped within the walls of this cave. I cannot escape, young Paladin. But you seem surprised that I am human. Did you not think all paladins were human before?” She glanced around at the sheepish faces.

“You did, didn’t you? Oh, Coran have you taught them nothing?” She scolded teasingly and with a hint of vehemence. There was an obvious taunt there, and Coran’s moustache twitched in annoyance.

Delora laughed eerily, shivers running down Keith’s spine as he finally heard that laugh in reality. “I am a human, or was. As was our Green Paladin. Everyone else was Galran, Altean or Liviathan. Most of them have since passed, though.”

Keith moved toward the spirit, arms out in question. “But you said you had a connection to me. Why were you trying to contact me in the first place? Why were you using me to gain quintessence?!”

“Because, young Paladin of Red, I knew and understood that connection. Your history just so happened to offer me services with the Killachromian alchemy as well. A plus on top of everything.”

“But that’s illegal!” He shouted back, not able to keep his anger in much longer.

“So be it but I’m already stuck here for eternity, what else can the Gods do?”

She huffed, continuing on as she floated around the group. “You see, I am devoid of all emotions. I have my memories, yes, but that only offers more suffering, or at least some spiritual equivalent of such. I know anger, but I do not feel it. Do you understand how frustrating that is? Knowing what you once had but could never again replace?”

Shiro looked down upon his own Galran hand, clenching the metal into a tight fist, feeling the cold of the metal of his finger tips. “Yeah, I do.” He spoke sullenly. She turned to Shiro, nodding and thanking him for his honesty. She turned on the rest of the group again. “I want that back. I want to transform, to feel once again. And most of all I want out of this cave and I want my human life back, no matter the cost.”

“And you thought that the only way to do that was through me?” Keith retorted, Lance’s hand grabbing his shirt to pull him backwards and away from the angered soul.

“I’ve been stuck here for 10,000 years, Keith. And you arrive miraculously with the only remaining Killachromian artifact that could still yield dark alchemy. Of course I had to use you! The fact that you were Red’s Paladin made the connection much more deep. When she was hurt in that desert planet, it was me she sought out, me who aided her health. You did nothing, so do not act as though you’re better than I.”

Keith bit his lip from retort, hurt deepening from the acknowledgment that himself and Red weren’t as close as he would like to believe. “What else do you want?” he asked out quietly with his head to the ground, figuring there was more to the story.

She smiled viciously once again with her teeth bared, widely and eerie. “Very clever, indeed, young Paladin. Maybe I have mistook you.” She drifted around the group in a circle from the fire, hands encircled around her back and her posture reminiscent to that of a stiff pole.

“I also want the previous Black Paladin. I want him to come here and see the harm he has forced upon me. I want him to suffer as well. I want him in pain. I want him in ruins.”

Hunk put his hands up immediately, not able to hold himself back. “I’m sorry, Mi-Jung, but the black paladin must have passed by now. I’m sorry but you might be mistaken with this one. It has been 10,000 years.” He offered kindly.

“Delora.” She repeated sternly, drifting over Hunk and levitating over him threateningly. Her transparent finger pointed and pushed through his chest as though she was a scolding a child. Keith pushed forward with a snarl, ready to attack if she dare touch Hunk, but Lance kept him back, his one good arm steadying him as an anchor.

“And you mock me by forgetting my words already. Something King Alfor, the previous Yellow Paladin, would never have done!” She screamed this out, hot breath hitting Hunk over his face. Hunk remained where he stood, in shock at this essential information, feeling slightly ill that he was piloting Yellow after someone so powerful and good had done so before. Hunk immediately grasped Delora’s threat and fell for it, becoming quite unworthy in his own eyes. “And no. The Black Paladin still lives. My ex-husband Nephyrus, the Galra, still remains alive and unharmed. Just by you being here, he shall visit me. After this, I will leave your Red Paladin alone… After gaining what I want.”

“The Black Paladin was your ex- husband? You, a human, married a Galra? Those horrible creatures?!” Pidge barked out in anger, pushing herself to the front of the group.

“He and the rest of the Galra were all once quite good and diplomatic people. But something changed, homes were destroyed and petty battles became the motivation for an entire empire. I understand your hatred, Green Paladin, due to your family, but please remember: the villain is the hero of their own story. Do not belittle him. You know not his past, and therefore cannot judge his present. But please know, he was a good, still can be, even if he helped lock me here.”

She wistfully sighed, continuing to circle around the group, her feet gliding over the dark terrain.

“But I guess that is what made him the Black Paladin, our leader.” She thought out loud morbidly. “They all have that sense of leadership, diplomacy, and genuine charisma needed to be the head. But they all also seem to have that edge, that tilt between good and evil where they can fall either way. My Black Paladin fell off into the dark side without realizing it. It is why he can no longer pilot Black. She destroyed the connection when her Paladin’s personality deteriorated with his motives and mind.”

She looked at the group who all slowly turned to Shiro. “I hope the same is never said for yours, though. I see the edge in your eyes, Shiro. You have the ability to fall the opposite way as well. Understand that darkness, and it will not overtake you. I can at least promise you that.” She took a keen interest in his arm at this point, staring at it and the intricate system.

“But how do we get the Black Paladin here without risking ourselves?!” Lance asked loudly, still huddled safely behind Keith’s protective form.

“You are here are you not? He will track you, and as it appears he has almost arrived.” She pointed towards the entrance of the cave, the Paladins turning along with her extended finger.

The group heard the ships and saw their lights in the distance, watching as the air ships made way towards the cave at a quickening pace.

Delora looked around, instantly pushing her hands outwards and a waft of air flew over the burning fire, taking it out. The plume of smoke filtered through the air, wafting away in a languid and mystical dance.

“I suggest you all hide, lest be caught by the Galra and taken prisoner, just as your handsome Shiro once was.” She said with that cruel smile and sparkle in her eye that Keith was learning to loathe.

Lance hated it too, hated her and Ylda for this entire situation. “Shit, what do we do?! Where do we hide?!” Lance screamed out. He looked around for places and saw the ledges much higher up on the caves walls. There were boulders that they could use on either side to shield themselves with.

He knocked Shiro’s arm, grabbing the leader's attention and pointing towards the large stones. Shiro nodded, heading towards the walls as he began to climb up, the Galra ships starting to land outside the cave’s entrance.

Pidge uaws her bayard as rope to pull Lance up with Keith's and Shiro's help, since he remained an invalid with only one useable hand.

Not at all climbing oriented. Once he was pulled up and unwrapped from her weapon, Pidge retracted her bayard and started to climb the opposite wall alongside Hunk and Coran, watching the events unfold beneath her with a piqued yet terrified interest.

Delora remained laughing, her short hair rising like a halo around her head from the obvious insanity.

“My ex-husband shall finally revisit his deedless handy work. He’s tracked your location. Oh this is all I’ve ever dreamed!” She clutched her hands together, nails digging into the spirited skin as she continued to laugh menacingly.

* * *

The figure entered the empty cave stoically and alone, his carmine silk cape flowing behind him with grace. He stood tall, obviously a man with wisdom and confidence.

He stilled in the centre of the cave, black darkness mixing with the awakening sun from the entrance. The flowing leaves allowed a colourful shimmer to explore the ground, dancing away through the shadows from the wind.

His piercing eyes glared, the blue figure slowly appearing towards him like a ghost evaporating into existence. He almost rolled his eyes if hatred wasn’t rolling off his shoulder. She always did love an entrance.

“Delora?” He uttered out. “I had forgotten where you were kept.” He said cruelly, yet the statement was an obvious lie hidden behind his taunting smile. He had been the one to request she be placed here.

“Like hell you did.” She sneered out, closing in on the man. “You chose to forget me, leave me behind to rot in this cave, forever alone. And our Empire has suffered for it, Zarkon.”

“Delora, it was never your Empire, stop with those thoughts-“

“Shut up!” She screamed.

Zarkon approached her, anger and tension rising through the cave like steam. It made Keith shiver from realization. The previous Black Paladin was Zarkon? Lance noticed his position, and instantly placed his unhurt hand on Keith’s back in support, rubbing over the bunched cloth of his shirt. The other seemed to calm at this, but never turned back to Lance. He remained absorbed in the verbal battle happening below.

"How did you bring me here, Delora. This was Paladins locations, how did you change out trackers?”

She smiled, tilting her head. “Why ask when you know the answer?”

Lance gulped loudly.

“Killachromian alchemy, sweetheart.” She cheekily winked at the other, her age not at all showing on her wrinkled face. “I changed the trackers on your maps to bring you here, finally to see me, since you were so close... And since you seemed to oh-so-pleasantly forget about my whereabouts, I figured it was time for a catch-up! How is Haggar doing these days, by the way?”

It was Zarkon's turn to growl with obvious malice. “I don’t have time for your silly games, Delora. I have an Empire to take care of!” He turned to walk away, heading towards the entrance as the cape swished to and fro.

“I brought you here for a reason,” her voice was no longer playful. It was deadened as she straightened her body, glaring daggers at the man she once loved.

“It’s the Red Paladin.” She spoke solemnly.

Keith’s eyes widened and he subconsciously moved forward, Lance’s grip on his back tightening to keep him in place. He felt Shiro’s gaze turn on him in concern as the two elders continued their talk.

Keith didn’t dare breath in case he missed a single word. This conversation was too damned important.

Zarkon stopped at the entrance, hand brushing against the vines. He turned, intrigued, silently hating himself for it. He lifted the vines more, the light reaching the blue spirit that floated towards towards him hauntingly.

Delora’s exposed parts seemed to fade with the light, remaining forever unseen to the outside world. Zarkon grimaced at seeing this in reality.

He turned back towards her completely, gesturing her to continue as he dropped the vines.

She smiled gleefully and it honestly made Keith feel sick. “I know you’ve realized it to. ‘ _You fight like a Galra, soldier_?” She mocked him with delight. “Of course you have.”

She stepped closer to him, her blue aura vibrant as she spoke.

“It’s him. He’s her child.”

Zarkon shook his head.

“No, no.” He spoke disbelieving. “She died before giving birth, went missing 10,000 years ago. There is no way that child is-“

“It’s him, Zarkon. You might be in denial but allow yourself to see the truth for once. The Red Paladin is our grandson, Zephyrus. And much like his mother and grandmother, he too wants to see you dead.” 

* * *

Kyung-Mi was born to a prestigious family. A commanding, strong Korean woman for a mother, and a tall, lanky, humourous Galra for a father; she was known as one of the first truces in the galaxy. The Paladins marriage had been based on love, but their creation showed that intergalactic species didn’t need to fight. Love could conquer, and sometimes miracles could work.

Kyung-Mi was one of those miracles and a beacon of light in the war struck universe. She was a symbol, and that ideal never seemed to fade from her life.

When married and thus became Galra Commander-in-Chief, her Mother had changed her human name from Mi-Jung to Delora Chaines, as to fit with the image of a Galra Queen for her new people. She ran her reign with an iron fist, her husband always on the cusp of her tail. 

Even if he was the Black Paladin and the leader of Voltron, everyone knew that it was the impulsive Delora Chaines who was running the show and getting things done. Kyung-Mi’s father, young Zephyrus the III of the planet Zarkonia, was renamed to Emperor Zarkon of the Galra Empire. These were the names she had always known them as. Everything had seemed so peaceful, so hopeful at that point. Perhaps it was just the nature that came with being a child. 

Life as a princess didn’t come without its discrepancies though. She was different and she knew it. She grew up on the Galran planet, but never looked like the other Galra children. When she visited her blind grandparents back in their tiny village on Earth, she had to remain in hiding because her mother feared she would be killed for ‘looking like a monster’.

Kyung-Mi hadn’t liked that word.

She held a small human body, both in height and weight, and had dark lavender human eyes and nose. Her fur and hair were complete ebony and pin straight, which looked odd against her violet skin and claws. Her ears and personality were that of her father, but everyone else said she had the looks of her stern mother.

She grew up with guards surrounding her, protecting her. She learned to fight and had loved sitting in on her Mother’s military meetings as a child, learning all she could about tactics and Galran formations. Her father, however, had taught her to speak multiple different languages, while forcing her outside the Castle to learn to appreciate the beauty in nature. Her father was secretly an artist, the more sensitive one between her mother and himself. He had always joked about this, but Kyung-Mi was thankful. While her mother was sharp and all edges, harsh to the bone and impulsive, her father liked to step back. He was always attentive, perceptive and nurturing, taking in everyone’s sentiments, reactions and thoughts. He based his ideals on his people and their word, rather than the upper class goals that his colleagues were always pushing for. He had said that as the Leader, he had to base his plans on the majority of his people. They had to be happy with them; He would never commit to anything if they seemed displeased by his actions. He was sympathetic like that, and was able to read others thoughts emotions to a T.

Kyung-Mi saw herself like this as well. Her mother mocked her for her sensitivity, while Kyung-Mi saw it as being a good leader to the people. ‘But you get nothing done if you’re always trying to play nice with everyone. That is your Father’s problem, and it is why I’m Commander-in-Chief. If things have to happen, some people’s feelings are going to be hurt. That’s life, Kyung-Mi.’

One would think being the Princess of the largest Empire would hold only benefits. But the girl had grown up knowing discrimination all too well. She was laughed at and not allowed to join the Galran games as a child. They would humiliate her, tease her and taunt her to tears. Her mother never held sympathy and even yelled that it was her fault for being so weak. She stopped crying and instead remained silent and hidden.

She had learned loneliness at a young age.

Older, she began to ignore the cruel whispers from the servants and people when she walked by. She understood, by then: She was a mix, a mutt, a crossbreed that never should have happened. A disgrace, dishonourable and ugly; She felt shame but still rose her head high.

However, it was when Haggar entered the picture that things began to change entirely. She held power, used it to her advantage and all of a sudden Kyung-Mi’s father stopped laughing. He stopped painting and seeing and a darkness entered his vision. Kyung-Mi dreamed of slitting Haggar’s throat with a knife. But the woman was magic, years ahead of her in skill. Kyung-Mi knew she’d be the one dead in seconds. 

Her mother always blamed the witch for changing her fathers ‘weakened’ mind. Her parents still formed Voltron, at this point only when needed and that honestly scarcely occured. Even she could understand that the bond was beginning to severe, making it all the more difficult. All their personal ideals were changing.

She remembered the fights her parents had late at night while they believed she slept. Nothing could keep her asleep from those harsh sounds though, echoing down the castle’s halls.

In the middle of her parents changing love and the ending of Voltron, with the Green Paladin passing due to age, all hope seemed lost. Her Mother was beginning to run into difficulties as Commander-in-Chief with the previous Yellow Paladin, King Alfor of Altea. They were picking fights, and war seemed to be finalized. All alliances were terminated.

In the wake of a new world, she met him one night at an open gala on a neutral planet. He shook her hand when he accidently walked into her, and didn’t belittle her for her appearance. He later told her that he thought she to be beautiful, something about more freedom of mind and liberty by the way his parents raised him. ‘Free’ was what Kyung-Mi called it, or ‘hippy’ if she wanted to use the Americanized Earthly term. The tall male Galra was kind and humourous, reminding Kyung-Mi of how her father had once been. They danced and had cocktails, and Kyung-Mi thought that was the night she first fell in love.

She never said as much.

She found out his name was Kevin, because his Mom had hacked into some sort of human communication services and ended up watching some sort of ‘film’ about dances and wolves or something. Either way, the main individual was named Kevin, and his Mom fell in love with what Kevin saw as a mediocre performance and human, and promptly named him after the actor.

Kevin the Galra hated Kevin the Person for most of his damned life. In this petty anger, he had said that when he had a child, they would have a cool human name, like Keith. Kyung-Mi had laughed at the time.

Week after week they attended the Gala, standing together and offering different theories on the new pieces of art, or a different perspective from their last conclusions about previously seen pieces.

Their claws brushed every so often, but never long enough to mean anything or to make a scene. Both were shy individuals. 

One night an acid rain storm had appeared halfway during the show. When they left the compound, they only saw the acidic hail falling heavily rom the sky. Kevin had cursed, stating how he hadn’t brought his umbrella. 

Kyung-Mi instantly offered her own, rather forcefully from excitement. She always came prepared and it was big enough for them both to walk under.

He blushed and accepted it, but only on the aspect that held it for her, wanting to be a gentleman. They walked to her motor vehicle, and she offered him a ride, stating that no one should have to walk an hour in the acid rain just to get home.

He tried to decline. She was being too kind to a lowly Galra, and it was much too far out of her way. She waved him off, an intense glare intimidating him into her offer. He had laughed at the situation. Who knew such a tiny woman could hold so much power. Kyung-Mi smiled while driving, saying how he obviously hadn’t met her mother. 

She walked him to his door with the umbrella, saying that she would see him next week. When she turned to leave, his Galran hand caught her arm. She twisted and caught onto his staring yellow eyes. 

They shared their first kiss that night.

Kyung-Mi and Kevin had married a while later, having the approval from both families and surprisingly no ailments raised about his ‘lowly’ heritage. He had land, sure, but he definitely wasn’t known or powerful, having lived on a neutral mixed-species planet for most of his life.

While their love grew, her parents had ended. The divorce came one day and was not at all surprising. Delora and Zarkon could no longer stand the sight of each other. Delora was in a war against Alfor and other species, and even her own husband began to turn on her. Haggar had liked what Delora had done for the Empire, military-wise, and completely replaced her as Commander-in-Chief. 

Delora was heartbroken, and it had been the only time Kyung-Mi had seen her mother cry.

Zarkon had branched her as a public enemy after that. Delora had to flee her home planet on Zarkonia with Kyung-Mi and Kevin in tow. Haggar had laughed as they ran, shooting lightning in hopes of a homicide. Kyung-Mi loved her father, but she could admit that something was off as she stared at his fading figure, not once trying to stop Haggar from killing his own daughter. There was no longer love in his eyes. 

They barely escaped the Galran Empire, imminently branding themselves as traitors.

Some Galras who hated Delora’s politics saw this as an opportunity to assassinate her. Other species who saw the bounty on their heads saw this as an opportunity to get some extra money for their rising taxes.

Either way, Delora, Kyung-Mi and Kevin remained unsafe from the universe.

They hid alongside the Killachromians, a neutral planet absorbed with their alchemy rather than intergalactic politics.

Delora had taken a keen interest in their craft, as had Kyung-Mi, and together they began to learn the art of Alchemy. Delora had crafted a long duel edged sword as her icon to yield the power, whereas Kyung-Mi created a small and simple dagger from ancient stones. It was easy enough to carry around, small, tactile, damaging and stealthy. Exactly what Kyung-Mi liked, in comparison to her mother who always liked the bigger and bolder options. It needed to be seen, Delora had always said.

Delora watched from the side as Zarkon’s Empire continued to grow impressively. He gained new territory at the snap of his fingers, like it was some movie to be watched. Delora hated it. She remained on the sidelines as her friends and previous alliances she had brashly formed were walked away in chains, forced to perform atrocities in the name of Galran Entertainment; Delora abhorred the dynamic, while it made Kyung-Mi want to throw up. Zarkon took over, creating a fear even more so then Delora had over the universe. Kyung-Mi felt as though that fear never should have existed. She knew it had to be some sort of mind control Haggar had formed. That wasn’t her Father. 

Her Father never would have killed.

It was when Zarkon had threatened Earth that her Mother came out of hiding.

They had most of the universe in their hands by this point, war raging on and death tolls tallying up more and more each day. Zarkon had already defeated Altea, most of their species completely wiped out.

It was rumoured that King Aflor had put his daughter and his advisor, Coran, to sleep, hoping they would pass this horrible time and awake in a new age of peace, remaining the last of their kind. 

Delora came to King Aflor then, begging on hands and knees, apologizing for her actions years previous. They had been friends at one point, partners even. Couldn’t he try to trust her again?

She spoke tactfully and viciously, for she knew how to stop her ex-husband, how to truly banish his actions. They could keep him from destroying the universe, imprisoning and wiping out entire species and races. They could do it, but only together.

King Alfor had listened with intrigue and respect, and with that the previous Red Paladin Delora Chaines flew with her Red Lion, unsteady from years of disuse to Zarkon’s home planet. It was noted that even Red was hesitant to let Delora fly her, hadn’t worked to the best of her abilities. Their bonds were severed from Delora’s changed morals. She was no longer the perfect Paladin for Red.

Funnily enough, around this time there had been mentions of an incredible dark alchemy rising from the Killachromians, nothing like anyone had ever seen before. Entire planets were being destroyed into nothingness out in the Far East. 

Delora had laughed at the rumours she knew to be true. 

She had reformed the dark alchemists herself.

In a petty motion to get one last revenge against her ex-husband, Delora used up the last of her aging power, yielding as much quintessence as she could from her broad sword.

The planet of Zarkonia was vast, large. It was more grande than two planets of Jupiter put together, and thus more difficult than any of the smaller Pluto like useless planets she had destroyed previously in her training.

Zarkon was away on a mission, only just returning when he saw the supernova-like explosion occur.

The sound he heard was unlike anything he’d ever experience, and a ball of fire and colours of blues, purples and reds filled the sky. It was near beautiful if Zarkon hadn’t understood what it meant behind the sulfic clouds.

His planet blew up before his eyes, all of his civilization ranging from the innocent, the young, the elderly, the ones who remained home during the brink of war, had died along with it.

He was sick.

Delora, however, felt overjoyed. She raised this planet, moved it up from its feeble position into a head power. And how did they thank her? By branding her as traitor and attempting to kill her daughter. The Galrans got what they deserved in her mind.

The rest of the galaxies were left in a state of shock by what happened, knowing only the innocent Galra had paid the ultimate price. And somehow everyone knew it was Delora Chaines, ex Commander-in-Chief, ex Queen of Zarkonia, ex-wife of Zephyrus the III, ex- Paladin of the Red Lion, who had committed the crime. 

She was weak when she returned to a disgusted King Alfor on the diminishing land of Altea. Zarkon was present, standing behind the King as though they were once again in their youth, discussing plans and fighting as Paladins. It was almost like a family meeting, if Delora hadn’t killed the last remaining Blue Paladin on Zarkonia, who had been visiting briefly for a peace treaty mission. 

Zarkon forced the tiny human to the ground, screaming obscenities at her while she laughed wildly. Zarkon had cried. He had just lost his home, his family, everything he knew and loved. The nature and his people, and his past and history, and for what? Because he demoted her, a woman he no longer loved?

He screamed at her antagonizingly, begging her to tell him how she did it.

She stopped laughing, became quiet. Killachromian alchemy, she said. Yielding properties into an icon, using energy for destruction. It was what she knew and loved. Even as a mere human she learned to yield its power over to a dark product. She discovered new tactics. Trained new people.

She was a military woman through and through, and knew how to get a job done, even if it didn’t make everybody happy.

King Alfor tore an enraged Zarkon from beating his ex-wife to death. She laughed through it all, a black eye and swollen cheek appearing alongside her bleeding lip.

He sent Zarkon away, back to his airships, detailing his plan about what should be done. Zarkon offered the location, and King Alfor nodded, shaking his hand in a tentative truce.

He knew this would be the last civil moment he would ever have with the Galran man he used to call his friend.

Returning to the Castle, King Alfor began to energize, forcing the power into his outstretched fingertips.

He too could yield magic, and yet he was more powerful than Delora ever could be.

With a prayer to the Gods above, who immediately agreed and offered him their services, Alfor took away Delora’s life force, forcing her disembodied spirit into the remnants of a cave. Her body died out, her spirit defenceless and powerless for eternity, locked away.

She would be left alone there, in a place where she could never feel. Her emotions were mute. 

She had her memories though, and knew what emotions could feel like, what human sensation had offered, the drive it allowed. She may have now been like a God, seeing all, hearing all, but retained none of the power that came with the status. She couldn’t change the outline of time, and this temptation she was so close to but could never reach again was everything that had made Delora Delora (the intense emotion, drive, anger, impulsiveness, feeling and sensations). She couldn’t feel hate or irritation, but she knew what it could offer. By how her memories played often in her head, she knew logically that she had to get out of that cave.

Zarkon found it especially cruel and ironic that they had forced her onto the Planet of Mascalon, where the species themselves held great Killachromian power. The energy was so close to her, taunting her but she could never reach it. Zarkon believed this to be the best punishment of all. A true tragedy for the ages.

After that, Zarkon had a special mission against the particular magical species. They had allowed dark alchemy to present itself within their homeland, thus destroying millions of lives.

The Killachromians were now in battle, waged in politics they too had never asked to be a part of.

The war continued on.

Kyung-Mi was devastated. The lost Planet of Zarkonia had been her home, she had grown up there, and had hoped to return after all this frivolous fighting was over. She loved the morning skies and flying between the mountain ridges on her bike. She had wished to raise a family on the flat lands one day, going through the Galran holidays and life merrily and happily. It was a vision she had seen, and had wanted so badly to happen.

The fact that she had lost her planet the same night as she had lost her mother, from King Alfor and her father nonetheless, had made Kyung-Mi see red.

After that, they fought long and hard battles, Kyung-Mi offering her military experience and training as leader for the Killachromians, her now residing planet. Kevin fought by her side, never once faultering. He was the only support left for her, the only acknowledgment of her previous life as a Princess. He was a presence she breathed in and felt hope beside.

They held the same vision of peace, two banished traitors with the same naive moral compass. She was eternally grateful that he stayed beside her when he never had to. 

He too had lost his family, not through war but by fleeing. His family never turned them in to the Galras when they tried to hide out at his home, but they made it clear how they were not welcome. Blood or not they were traitors. 

Kyung-Mi commanded the armies that trusted her against her father, but was never once successful. The Galran Empire just had too many more soldiers, too much of a populace behind them, she couldn’t do damage. And with her horrible luck, gaining allies with a feared species whose magic destroyed entire planets was essentially impossible. Even Kyung-Mi had tried to stop the angered and rising dark Alchemists before everything had taken place, but she too held no such luck.

Kyung-Mi had learned she was two months pregnant when Kevin died. Kyung-Mi was at the palace at that point, in a conference discussing the option of surrender to her father while her husband commanded the ongoing battles outside.

A Galra soldier had taken him down. He was stabbed in the chest, and she was thankful that he died almost instantly.

Kyung-Mi never knew what his last words were.

The Killachromians were overtaken then, the highest druid sending Kyung-Mi away to flee. This was never supposed to be her battle, but he was thankful she stood beside them. 

She fled once again, this time running to King Alfor. 

She was alone. Her Mother’s spirit was trapped away, her Father’s mind was not his own, and her entire species was against her.

She begged King Alfor who took pity. He never blamed her for anything. She was a good person, kind, generous and sweet. She worked hard, and fought for what she believed to be right.

He thanked her for her hard work. She was placed into this life from angered parents, and now she had to pay the price for their stupidity.

King Alfor was dying from a sickness at this point, if his breathy slurs were anything to go by. 

He offered her a cryopod. She could take it and hide along with her growing child. He knew she too was a strong yielder of Killachromian alchemy. Had she ever thought about using her energy to change her appearance? She could live a normal life somewhere. Maybe she just had to sleep it out first, like his own daughter.

Kyung-Mi hadn’t ever thought of that as an option, finally becoming confident in her own body with age.

But she had a child now, an innocent she had to protect and an entire galaxy that blamed her for parents’ damages. 

She had agreed to Alfor’s advice. Using her dagger, she used its alchemic properties to change her shape and form completely, as well as her developing baby. The energy it took to do this was immense, and something she knew would have to be built up overtime, like a muscle. 

But she looked completely human. And as long as she remained with the dagger and its properties, she would forever remain in this form as would her child, even if it was damaging and difficult to continue.

She took the pod to Earth, hiding it away in an open and vast desert. 

They slept for a near 10,000 years. She awoke to a new planet where technology, large buildings, and vehicles had taken over. The language had changed a bit, accents developing over time, but she was relieved to see Earth was still okay. They didn’t seem to have a clue of what was going on outside in Space.

And Kyung-Mi wondered if it was peaceful there yet. Surely King Alfor and her Father had to have died long ago. She wondered if her Mothers spirit was still locked away. She mourned solemnly during the next few months. 

She stayed in a care home until she rented a small shack way on the outskirts of town, unseen to the world. And while she could adapt to natural surroundings and had a job in the human world, Kyung-Mi enjoyed the quiet peace the desert sun brought. She could turn back to her normal form when she was home, not having to worry about anyone catching her.

The baby was born late at night in her shack, alone. She was worried that the magic and sleep may have caused damage, that birthing as a human may cause a problem. But even though she almost bled out there on the floor, she gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy. He was human through and through, little tufts of black hair on his adorable little head as he cried out.

She had named him Keith without hesitation.

She had sung to him every day and every night, using her voice to stop the impeding silence from the family-less individuals. Keith always lulled to sleep with the songs from her home planet, kind and gentle lullabies he would babble for her to continue. He loved her voice.

A few years had passed, and the energy began to seep from her bones due to overuse. She was thankful that Keith never seemed to have trouble keeping his human form, never once turning or showing signs of fret. The child had no idea about his history, believing himself to be completely human, his muscles and his own energy subconsciously doing it for him. 

His ancestry was a conversation for when he was older, she decided.

But Kyung-Mi had become sick and frail. She felt terrible since she had the best little boy in the world. He never cried too loudly and always did as was told. He seemed to understand that she wasn’t okay, and tried his best to help her. Her heart ached, a barely speaking three year old shouldn’t have to take care of his mother. He shouldn’t have to worry if he spoke too loudly in fear that her migraine may worsen.

He should be playing loudly outside with the other children, hurting himself and cutting his knees, crying out and then coddling up to her for attention.

He shouldn’t be fearful to hug her in case he would hurt her. He too was sensitive and perceptive to everyone around him, she thought near tears. Like Kevin. Like her Father.

She decided it then. She’d leave a note, stating she couldn’t afford the medical costs. She hoped the social care services would place Keith in a good home.

She hoped for the best, just as she always had. But just as it always seemed, her hopes were never once granted.

Whilst dying in bed, she focused all of her energy into her dagger, draining her life source into the object. She’d be dead, technically, her body never again useable. But her remaining energy would be alive through the dagger. She’d never feel pain or hunger again, she’d never have to worry about using too much of her own energy, because it was all locked away in the object. Here she could remain as a presence for Keith, not at all frail and hurting his childhood, but still there.

Three year old Keith woke up when a blue beam flashed brightly in the small room. It had disappeared as quickly as it had started. Something called to him then, and he walked over to his Mother’s larger bedframe, dagger still illuminated in her arms.

He was the one to find her, contacted the police through the old phone on the wall, ‘9-1-1’ her voice had reassured him. He wasn’t sure what was happening. Why isn’t Mommy waking up? 

They took her away during a beautiful dawn, her corpse unmoving and Keith continued to not understand. Where was his mommy going? Why was he leaving his home? Where were his things going? Crying, he grabbed the sheathed dagger before being pulled away screaming from his home. He held it tightly in his chubby hands within the police car, not saying a word to their many questions. Was your Mommy ill? Was she coughing? Did she leave her bed?

They apparently had found a note, but Keith didn’t know what to do with that information.

Instead he fell asleep in the steady hum of the moving car, crying softly. He never let the dagger go, clutching it like a toy.

But it was better than a toy, almost safer. He felt like it as hugging him back, as if his mother was still there singing to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Keith :'(
> 
> Once again, hope you enjoyed! This was my favourite chapter to write for so please let me know what you think :) I tried to make it not so convoluted, or bizarre, even if it is filled with OCs...
> 
> See you all soon :) (And for those in the US, Happy Thanksgiving!) 
> 
> (Eerrrrr, also shameless self promotion, if you're bored, go follow me on Tumblr, I reblog some cool shit --> turnawaytherose.tumblr.com >:) )


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Graphic violence ahead guys, like badly. Dislocated shoulder, gore, other terrible things that I dont want ot mention because spoilers. But if you dont like that sort of thing, please read with caution.
> 
> Also, there is mentions of torture, or going into a torture scene, but it's never detailed nor explained, just happens. Letting everyone know!
> 
> Aaaand besides that we're onto another Chapter :) Hope everyone enjoys :)

The story played out to them like a motion picture. It overtook them, enveloped them, forced them to watch scene by scene as the events transpired. The Paladins couldn’t move, hovering around the memories as they watched the deep history illuminate around their eyes. Delora had tapped into the dagger’s abilities, using the power to show it all, every dark deed that lead to hapless little Keith’s family-less beginnings.

As reality set back in, the grey edged lines faded away with the scenes that surrounded the group. They fell back into their bodies, collapsing and taking deep breaths, feeling as though hey had been frozen in time, Behind the boulder, Keith fell to his knees in a fit. Shaking and uncomprehending, he vomited next to his side. He couldn’t help it while he horrifically grabbed at his dagger, eyes hovering over it as he cried out. He grimaced, convulsing. He peered over every nook, every little slice that had occurred in the recent years. His Mother- His Mother? His mother?! He yelled again, slamming the dagger against the wall, the blue fading away with time.

Lance and Shiro remained stunned behind him, not knowing what to do as Keith grabbed onto his head, breathing hard.

“He’s our grandson.” Delora said for all ears, smile twisting. 

Zarkon dared look up at Delora, eyes wide as shock once again ran through him. There was too much from that. His- his home planet. He’d seen his home planet and his family and Castle again. He’d seen his daughter and her laughing face, her straight raven hair brushing past her shoulders, happier than he’d ever seen her on the day of her wedding.

It rushed back to him, spearing him in the chest. He too fell onto his knees, hands on the ground as he tried to breath from his panic.

The child was his heir.

Hunk, on the other side of the wall turned to Pidge. “Is this arbitrary? Does this seem arbitrary to anyone else?” He asked, hands up in question needing to diffuse the horrid feeling sinking deeper into his stomach. He saw Keith pale and shaky, gasping on the ground on the other side of the cave, not at all trying to keep it together. He was as clear as an opened wound.

“No,” Pidge whispered. “It’s just convoluted.” She was biting her lips, feeling shame, from forcefully watching something that wasn’t for her eyes. It was something private, for Keith. Only Keith should have ever watched that.

Then again, Pidge figured she knew Delora better now, guessed this was all just another telltale game to the deranged lady. Another way to see people in pain, toying with their emotions and memories and not at all caring about their own well being. The spirit seemed to thrive off of this, her impulse and actions hurting those in her way, and she always stopped to look back with a heavy smile on her face.

“You, you bitch!” Zarkon shouted despairingly.

The dagger began to glow heavily from the walls corner.

Delora stood in the middle of the room, absorbing the quintessence with moans. “I can feel it. I can feel the power through my veins.” She yipped in glee. Her blue hair extended up and outward, flying in all directions in a fanning span. Her clothes flew with the wind as the quintessence continually grew larger, Delora sucking away its life force.

“Aha! Ahahaha!” She screamed, head whipping backwards as a warm colour emitted in her chest. It was faded, but they could see its pulse.

It was a heartbeat. 

The blue transparency began to fade as pale skin took over her arms, overlapping her chest. 

Lance stood watching above, eyes wide as she slowly morphed back into her human figure, obviously a very difficult and slow task by the looks of things.

“She’s using the dagger’s quintessence! She’s using it to turn back to human!” Lance shouted, pointing towards the psychotic being. 

“That’s why she used Keith, she wanted the energy. This was never about Zarkon or Keith, she just wanted to become human again!”

Keith lurched up at this, distraught and sickened. Teeth bared like an animal, he had the look to kill. His eyes pierced downwards onto Delora who was still parading around with his Mother’s life force on the ground. 

She wasn’t even halfway covered yet with human skin when she lifted her head back up and over her chest. Her hair still standing up on it’s edges like a halo. She stared at Zarkon boldly as she hovered over the ground.

“Now. Now I am half human and half spirit. Now, I can do this! I can finally kill you!”

Zarkon moved out of the way from her oncoming power surge, a gust of wind rushing towards him. He activated his bayard with a bat of his eyelids, readying for attack. Her head, chest and arms were human, but her stomach and legs still held the blue transparency, seemingly on hold as she yelled curses at him.

She dove forward, blue lights flashing from mid drift as she readied her attack. They met, spiritual alchemy and paladin bayard together, an explosion branding the walls.

They fought, the power each held vast and ever expanding, echoing down the caves walls, shaking it. Pidge shouted, grabbing onto the boulder as the boulder and ledge swayed forward.

It felt like Gods were fighting, each strike and attack more bold and hideous then the last.

Delora wouldn’t stop laughing, anger seeping into her again as she felt the warmth of a human body, and the cold of the cave brush past her bare shoulders. Tightening her fists, she moved the energy around the room roughly, knocking on the caves stony surface and ground. 

The cave began to shudder completely. Lance felt the ledge underneath his feet give way, jumping to safety still along the ledge as the boulder tumbled down towards the ground.

Zarkon jumped out of the way too, eyes glancing over the Paladins. He landed on Keith, the sickened boy’s eyes widened as a fear shot through him.

The power surged from the dagger, a burst of electricity jumping from it.

Delora shouted, gasping. Her frail body shook from the power she had overused in her haste. She tried to grab more, knew it was there, but there was a block. She couldn’t get through to its properties.

She screamed loudly, her human skin already pulling back and leaving her with the spirit’s transparency.

“No! NO!!” She screeched, wildly looking around in scowls when the cave’s ceiling began to fall around her.

Debris landed on the ground roughly, the dirt lifting upwards and shielding the Paladins in a dust covered blanket. Shiro coughed, grabbing Lance as they tried to look around. They needed to get down, they needed to get out of the cave. He saw on the other side Pidge’s green bayard through the dirt, shooting out its rope towards the ground. Three misted forms spiraled down it, hopefully running towards safety. Shiro didn’t hear any familiar shouts, so he prayed for the best.

He could feel Delora’s energy running through the cave, destroying it, now self-destructing rather than vengeful. The plunging rocks and collapsing stoned walls echoed throughout the cave, its ultimate collapse beginning in its center core, further away from the entrance. The deafening sound it created only further worried Shiro, his heart jumping as he tried to look around for _something_. 

“I WANT THAT DAGGER!!!” Delora screamed through the walls, echoes furthering its own collapse as the cold continued on breezing through. 

“We need to get out of here!” Shiro shouted while more debris filled his lungs. 

“But Keith!” Lance screamed back.

They looked in all areas, in search for their missing Paladin through the dirty haze that had developed around them.

The ledge gave out underneath them finally, and they fell into the pit where the fire had laid. Ash and soot and the branches’ thorns stuck to Lance and Shiro’s skin and bandages, Lance falling on his bad arm and screaming out. They could see the entrance from where they were positioned. They turned and saw Keith huddled against the wall, mid-stance as he held the dagger with a hysteric expression on his face. He held the powerful object in his hands, eyes turning to the screaming Delora. 

She looked to him then, brushing past Zarkon as she dove for the boy. He screamed, jumping out of the was as she ran into the wall, denting and crushing the stone severely.

When she turned, Keith was beside her, dagger up and suddenly impaling Delora’s human eye. She screamed like a banshee, even while no human blood dripped from the wound. Keith couldn’t help but think this to be odd. Delora must technically be a living corpse by now, having no blood to shed. He grimaced, plunging it deeper as she continued to wail, grabbing onto his arms and twisting it. He could feel his muscle ligaments begin to tear as he doubled over and winced. He tore the dagger away, seeing the sunken in wall of red. Where an eye should be but wasn’t. She floated away slightly then, in shock, and touched the wound: red and overcast, no blood extracted. She just looked at him through her shock, slowly and questioning. 

Breathing hard he plunged the dagger into her other eye, deep before removing it with speed. She grabbed his arm, ripping it from its socket in her despair and pain, dislocating his shoulder. 

The deep blue of the dagger was knocked from his hand, thrown into the remnants of the collapsing cave. The power faded immediately. 

She was blind, arms outstretched as she screamed in search for the dagger to try and extract its energy. She needed to become human, not realizing her true fate. She grabbed Keith, feeling the human body near hers and threw him to the sidewalls, out of the way. She flew madly in her search, screeching, howling from her humam pain. Her short hair flew all around her body as she moved frantically. She rammed into walls, the ceiling, the floor, feeling with her human hands outstretched to look around.

Lance and Shiro could hear Delora rummaging around the cave, flying anywhere and everywhere in her petty and blind search. With her intense speed, she tried to use her senses, but the debris and her own madness clouded her vision. She was too hysteric to continue. 

“AHHHHHHHHH!” 

“Keith, come here!” Lance shouted, trying to get out of Shiro’s death-like grip. They crawled over to the unmoving figure huddled against the wall, crouched and breathing into their elbows as the dust became too much, trying to huddle out of the way from the falling rocks.

They saw a blackened flash of a familiar bayard, powerfully near Keith’s deadened form. He never turned to his friends. Instead, they noticed two pair of feet kneeling in front of him, the crimson cloak offering a hint as to who it was. 

They stopped, watching in the absurd madness as Zarkon grabbed Keith’s shoulders, forcing him onto his knees as he placed a large claw over their friend’s mouth. Keith couldn’t breathe. Keith’s eyes widened, trying to reach for the dagger as he kicked out in every direction, trying to get away, trying to breath.

The boulders on the other ledge finally collapsed as the blue figure dove into it screaming, rolling downs towards Lance and Shiro. They jumped and rolled in the opposite direction of Keith, the boulder crashing into the wall as more debris and dirt filled the air. They too couldn’t breath, they couldn’t see. Zarkon, however, could, and he watched sadistically from the side as the two struggled to find their poor friend. Lance and Shiro heard him, his cruel laugh echoing due to their blindness. 

The boulder was between themselves and Keith, and Lance continued to scream in his frantic search, coughing and choking from the dusted air. He wildly flung himself from Shiro’s grip. The metal palm loosened against his shirt, and Lance escaped, Shiro on the brink of his tail shouting as they ran downwards further into the cave and further from their escape.

They turned around the boulder, the dirt falling a bit more and they could see a little better. Through the dust, Zarkon remained smiling, an unconscious Keith strewn leaning over his large arm, his legs giving out from beneath himself still on the ground.

Zarkon held the bare dagger, power no longer there, glancing at the Paladins. He didn’t offer them an expression, and instead brought Keith closer to his chest, hand protecting the Paladin’s head from incoming rocks. He threw his cloak over Keith, lifting the other off the ground by his waist, holding him like a child wanting a hug. The boy’s form was completely covered though, pressed tightly inside the clothed material. Zarkon said nothing as another the wall shot outwards, sharp rocks exploding straight for Lance and Shiro and thus Zarkon and Keith. 

Shiro once again grabbed Lance’s shirt, jumping out of the way into some safety, Delora’s echoes of her need for the dagger shooting down in whispers hit their ears, hairs on their necks rising in fear and delusion. More dust was thrown up, and the cave finally decided to collapse in on itself entirely. 

Shiro, hearing and feeling the devastating sound, forced the shocked Lance onto his feet. He pulled him forward, taking off down towards the entrance, Lance having some sort of episode and unable to react. He felt Shiro literally drag him on the rough terrain, unable to move his own limbs. The ceilings fell over them, hitting him and slicing his face at some points. One rock smashed wretchedly against Shiro’s knee, literally exploding from the wall. 

He screamed out in pain but pressed on, running forward. 

Everything felt in slow motion for the two of them: the pain was taking over, dust was everywhere. Their chests tightened, their lungs burned, watching as all sides of the enchanted cave erupted into fragments alongside Delora’s mind and body. They were seconds away from the entrance, Pidge, Coran and Hunk shouting fom where the same effects didn’t seem to transpire. The entrance remained completely away from harm. 

 _Left leg. Right leg. Left foot. Right foot_. Shiro thought as he felt every single tick go by, noticing every little thing happen as he became hypersensitive to his surroundings.

Still holding Lance’s shirt, he threw the other boy out of the cave’s entrance. He watched as Lance rolled through the vines, landing with a thud outside and near the edge of the cliff. Lance never caught himself, instead remaining like a ragdoll.

Shiro jumped forward, but not before feeling the rocks collapse heavily on top of himself. His torso was outstretched in the outside world, the vines flowing over his sweating head gracefully, pulling away the dirt strewn on his head like a bath. 

He breathed the fresh air deeply, touching the sand along the ground with bruised hands. He let out a gasp, and noticed with a hint of disinterest: he couldn’t feel his legs.

And Shiro felt that familiar tugging behind his mind, eyes and body wanting to give way. He had to look around though, make sure everyone was safe. He saw Pidge, Hunk and Coran running towards him, terrified and shouting something intangible his ears rung. Lance was still lying on his side from where Shiro threw him near the cliffs edge, body turned away and eyes watching the sun rising over the mountain tops in the opposite direction.

He noticed a Galra ship, taking off through the orbit, not having harmed the Green Lion or his teammates.

His eyes closed, listening to the softening laughter of Delora.

“ _Ha…ha… ha… found it…”_ She wretchedly whispered, her voice finally fading out into a silence that only her death could allow. 

* * *

When Keith woke up, he was lying on top of a firm mattress, the built up soot still covering his entire body. He was inside a small dark room, barren and recluse. There was a door, a bed, and window. Everything was covered in a deep purple and crimson colour, Keith gaining a fair idea about where he was.

When he moved his muscles he found they were tense and in pain, but was surprised when nothing seemed broken. His shoulder was tucked away in a shoulder sling, but as he rolled it around and stretched himself out, he realized with shock that it was no longer dislocated. He was even more surprised when nothing seemed to keep him against the bed or a wall, through the likes of chains and such. Huh. He thought Zarkon would be the overbearing type, needing his prisoners withheld at all times. It was an honest and almost nice surprise.

He looked out the window and saw only the endless amount of space before him. Vast, unmapped, uncharted territory which was largely unknown to Keith but held so much of his ancestry. He felt a little scared looking out at it all, moving to the corner of the bed. He shot up to his feet running and grabbing for the door handle, instantly trying to latch it open.

It was locked shut, of course. Not even dead bolted or something normal. As Keith placed his hand against the frame, he could feel its buzz underneath, the quintessence being used to keep it locked. Keith shuttered. He looked down at himself, still wearing his boots, yet his pants were torn up and in shreds. His dark grey shirt was somewhat better, only small holes and dirt covering it. He was left without his jacket though, Keith feeling a little bare without it when he ran his gloved hands over his exposed arms. 

He looked around, searching for an escape. A vent. Something.

He searched, he looked everywhere, every nook and cranny possible but this room was too damned small and there was nothing. Nothing! He slowed himself and tried to listen but all was silent. He became angry. There wasn’t even a little hint of a noise, no air, no creaks, no sounds, how could-

Keith stalled in his frantically set pace, stopping motionless.

The voice wasn’t there anymore. There wasn’t a hum, there wasn’t a buzzing. There wasn’t a static moan or crying, someone constantly breathing into his ear.

Keith breathed out.

The presence wasn’t there, hovering around nor lingering. He felt around instinctually, searching for it, almost wistfully at this point. There was nothing. She was gone. Delora was gone.

Keith was completely alone.

* * *

“We have to go after him.” Lance yelled in anger. He spent a good two hours unconscious in the pod before forcing himself out, his broken wrist and some burns be damned (they were, he noted, only slightly healed over. He figured they could heal normally from dammit, and he had full motion of his wrist, even if it did kind of hurt to you). The scars from days earlier with the power warp still remained, but much less visible than they had been previously. Lance didn’t want to waste time in a pod however, making his wishes more than well known as they forced him into the damned thing after Allura saved them on the mountainside.

They had tugged Shiro out from under the fallen rocks at that point, the sun peaking over the horizon with a beautiful blue over the mountains top.

The only thought that Lance had was how disgusting the colour blue was, wanting to throw up at the continuous sight of it.

This was a slight problem given his status in Voltron.

She let them board quickly, already with the Green Lion in the hangar, safe and protected. Walking out of the ship confidently, her hips swaying with relentlessness, she grabbed the unconscious Shiro. She picked the other up in a bridal carry, lifting him with ease while walking back to the cryopods quietly. No one said anything at the face she had made when she saw his pale body, tattered, broken and bruised. There were areas crimpled and jutting out where they shouldn’t be. That was not how a human body should ever look. She gulped but hadn’t allowed it to get to her.

And if a silent tear fell, no one mentioned it.

Shiro was once again tucked away, now recovering. The cryopods could heal and recover physical damage, but Allura made a comment that they couldn’t replace or rebuild bones. 

Shiro’s right leg may have to be amputated and replaced with another prosthetic, having been completely crushed underneath the collapsed rocks. He was lucky his other leg was okay, and that he didn’t seem to have suffered from any intensive spinal damage. There were bruises and a rib was broken, and his left knee was fractured, but those could be dealt with through time. Ultimately, though, Shiro would walk again and was alive. It was surprising how fate seemed to work, sometimes. 

She fretted, watching him and the ticks go by while Lance stood stubbornly behind her, his fists clenched.

“We need to save him, Allura.” 

She shook her head anxiously, not once turning to look at the Blue Paladin. Coran, Pidge and Hunk sat on the floor, sadness crippling over everyones features. 

“We can’t do that, Lance.” She said unsteadily, the silence destructive at this point. The only sound was the faint hum of the moving airship.

“Why not?” He asked sternly, determination etched on his features while, in contrast, his body and voice remained calmed and collected, never once rising.

“Because we can’t. All odds are against us right now. They have an entire army, and we only have three Paladins and three working Lions. The answer is no.”

Lance let a moment before saying, “We went after you.”

She blinked away from the pod, looking towards Lance only briefly. “You know I never asked for that." 

“And Keith isn’t asking either.”

Allura bit her lip intensely, emotions washing over her. She placed a hand and her forehead against the glass case holding Shiro.

“We can’t Lance. Not right now.”

“Allura is right, Lance.” Pidge said, voice raw from shouting back in the cave and tired from having not slept in a while. “When we went for Allura, we had the Castle as a back-up. We had five functional Paladins and Lions. We don’t have that now, and we’re tired. We’re exhausted, we haven’t eaten, we haven’t slept, we’re mostly injured and we all just feel sick at what happened. So jumping into a battle against Zarkon’s army to save yet another person who was taken only two weeks after we all found each other isn’t plausible!” She yelled out, rage growing inside her. Her lip quivered, tears forming behind her eyes. 

“I want Keith back too, Lance! I would love to go after him, go onto Zarkon’s ship and kill him myself. It’s just a lovely thought isn’t it? We could rescue Keith, you’d get to play the Knight in Shining armour, I’d get to save my Dad and my Brother, and all would be perfect, right? But that isn’t realistic, and we can’t just keep going blindly into battles. It’s hurting us even more, dammit, and I can’t handle the thought of losing you too!” A few tears started to fall in calm cascades down her face as she glanced back at Shiro to Lance.

“We barely saved Shiro, we lost Keith. Please Lance, not now. I don’t want to think about what would happen if they caught you too. I can’t-“ 

Hunk pulled Pidge into a hug, fatigue heavy in his bones. He too turned to Lance, sadness evident over his tired features. “I’m sorry, buddy. But they’re all right. We’re all too tired and weak right now to jump headfirst against Zarkon. It would be fighting a lost battle. We just can’t. I’m sorry.”

Lance huffed out, lip pushing forward as he clenched his fists.

“Fine, I guess you’re all cowards anyway.” He barked, pulling his hands into his pockets and walking out the door away from everyone. 

Everything was falling apart. He knew it had never been perfect in the first place, not yet, but there had been that hope there, that possibility of what could be something great.

But everything went to shit after they first went to attack Zarkon, save Allura, ended up lost through the wormhole.

Lance reached the hallway near his bedroom. He didn’t make it, and instead fell against the wall near Shiro’s room, closest to the entrance hall. 

Curling against himself, Lance felt a pit in the bottom of his stomach, a sense of shaking he couldn’t get rid of as he cried out loud. It wasn’t pretty, but he guessed crying never was supposed to be. He held his knees to his chest, rocking himself, head falling forward. He weeped loudly, tears falling like raindrops as his cheeks and eyes became swollen and puffy. His breaths quickened and it started all to hurt, a headache forming from the tension he brought onto himself. Snot fell from his nose when he realized he couldn’t stop.

He couldn’t control his emotions and he didn’t want to.

He tried to imagine arms around wrapping him that weren’t his own. He escaped into his memories then, leaving himself.

He saw his mother and Abuela, soothing voices talking to him while they held him. It was just like when he was a kid and was getting beat up by the local bully every day, coming home shaky, battered, bloody, and bruised. They would hold him, shushing him and wiping his tears. They would make him feel better together, his Abuela playing cards with him or showing him a new magic trick at the dinner table, while his mom worked away in the kitchen corner, making him his favourite butterscotch cookies. They never had enough money, everything was limited and budgeted with precision, but somehow his Mom always made sure to have the ingredients for his favourite cookies on days like that. 

He tried to remember Sparky’s bark, and instead heard his brother’s laugh, jarring and obnoxious but the type that could get everyone going. It was loud, boisterous and perfectly contagious.

He held himself harder, crying louder as he remembered them all. The happy memories they had. He feared for them, wondering if he was causing them pain from being here. Yeah, it was cool being a leg in a giant cat robot, but- did his Mom think he just disappeared? Did they think he died? Was Lance ever going to see them again?

He saw a passing memory of a certain pair of garrison boots lying near the doorway, never to be used again. He didn’t understand why they kept them there, but it hurt them all too much to move away. The smell of the body no longer lingered, fading years prior, but they were his.

His Dad had been an astronaut once, and even had been assigned as a constructer at the Garrison later one. This was the only way Lance had made it into the program with his grades. His Dad had passed away when Lance was younger, just on the cusp of his teenage years. He had thought he would have his Dad forever, just like his older brother and sister had, who were both university graduates. He just assumed he’d have his Dad for at least the same amount of time, never truly thought about it. It only seemed fair.

Accidents happen though, and Lance was shocked to see his little protected and happy bubble burst. His Abuela didn’t leave her room for days, whilst his Mom only moved around motionless, empty. It had been Lance to make the butterscotch cookies during that period, his friend from online, Hunk, helping him with the recipe. 

He cried harder at the memory, his Dad truly a significant factor in him joining the garrison. His application had only been a pity acceptance, Lance knew. How could they just say no to John McClain’s son? Truth was, they couldn’t.

He missed his Dad, no more than he missed his family now. The stormy nights when it was hurricane season, his little home moving with the wind. They would sit together on the couch those nights, the candle in the middle of the room the only source of light as they told ghost stories and Sparky cuddled into him.

He saw the passion of a pair of dark violet eyes, telling him that wouldn’t just be a memory anymore. He would get Lance home.

And Lance cried more at that. Hugging himself tighter.

He didn’t realize when his sobs quieted, falling against the floor as sleep began to evade his mind.

* * *

Keith remained huddled on the bed, shaking stiffly from his imprisoned room. He only watched the outer window, stars and asteroid fields flying by. He saw in the distance, what he knew must be distant galaxies away, a giant quasar, shivering as the beamed light extended forward from its power. It raged, violet and crimson pillars similar to the yellow eagle nebula standing proudly behind it. 

Keith sighed, his palm placed against the glass as he looked outward.

He honestly just hoped that everyone was okay. 

The door opened with a loud bang. Keith whipped around, painfully fearful as he growled at the newcomer, hand grabbing at his dagger for protection. 

Zarkon stood in front of him, a few guards behind himself with their weapons raised. 

Zarkon calmly took note of Keith’s held dagger. “Any funny business and be assured, Paladin, they will have your head.” He heard the familiar threat from Delora before, but that had been against his friends. It was much worse then, and Zarkon was only threatening Keith. He could handle that.

“Then don’t piss me off.” Keith stated, back still crouched protectively against the wall on top of his mattress. 

Zarkon laughed. “I guess you do have Delora’s blood in your veins. I wasn’t sure at first.”

Keith sneered, dagger raised threateningly as her name was brought into the equation.

“She’s dead, Keith. No need to growl.” Zarkon said, moving further into the room. He held his hand up, gesturing his guards to lay low. The guards then bowed quickly and backed off, moving out of the room as the door slammed shut with a _swoosh_. Keith pushed himself up even further, notably scared but trying to remain threatening. The kid was good at it, his survival instincts kicking in at the newcomer. Zarkon wouldn’t have been tipped off it hadn’t been for the slight shake of his hand as he raised his weapon.

“How do you know that?”

“You took her eyes. You tell me.”

Keith stilled and hummed, thinking back to the cave. He didn’t remember everything, only the seething anger and bloodlust running through his veins. He wanted her dead. He had wanted it so badly, it was a passion and need unlike any other; it frightened him. It was more painful and necessary and created more drive then when he was young and hungry and looking for food. And in the end he wanted to be the one to deliver her untimely death. 

“She was becoming human. I-I think the cave collapsed on her, crushing her…. I think. All I remember is how I wanted her dead…”

“That’s the Galra in you, my boy.” Zarkon explained with a wicked smile. “And once we develop that further, you’ll be the perfect heir for my empire.”

Keith hissed at this as Zarkon moved to grab his arm, puling him off the bed. Keith lashed out, trying to hurt him with his dagger. He tried to latch it into the other’s roughened arm, but the armour was too thick, and Keith had been only left covered in rags.

“Get off me, asshole! I’ll never be your heir!”

Zarkon never released him, pulling Keith closer and folding himself downward, face to face with the enraged child whose undamaged arm was so much like a twig, so easily breakable in Zarkon’s massive grip. 

“Dare go against me, and I will kill you.”

“Kill me then, I don’t care.” Keith spoke viciously, spit shooting out as he expressed his rage at the man before him.

Zarkon hummed lowly, his skeletal face pressed closely to Keith’s. Keith swore that the man was dead, a living corpse now that he was up so close. If it happened to Delora, why couldn’t it happen to Zarkon? Living unnaturally for a good 10,000 years was something that wasn’t supposed to ever happen, but alchemy had a funny way of rearing its ugly head. Maybe this was Zarkon’s punishment, likened to Delora’s own.

He didn’t even have wrinkles, Keith looked on with disgust. Rather, it looked as though he barely had skin, and was mostly, as Keith would say, bones. Pure, cracked, corpse-like bones. He shivered at the realization, trying further to get away from the high ruling Emperor. Zarkon smiled, his grip tightening around Keith’s arm and the boy gasped in pain. “Well, then. You may not care about yourself, but what about your little friends, huh?” The elder sneered, smile still inches from Keith’s own face. Keith could feel his hot rich breath against his cheeks. Keith’s eyes widened, Zarkon happy that he figured out the other’s trigger.

“You wouldn’t dare.” Keith said.

Zarkon turned and slammed Keith with surprise into the far wall, over his bed and into the window. He extended Keith’s arms around his back, holding his chest against the pane of glass painfully. He latched onto the younger’s black hair, near cracking his cheek bone against the cool window. Zarkon fell over him on the bed while the boy tried to break away from his grasp, speaking into his ear. 

“Don’t tempt me, child. I can kill them easily. Along with that little girl’s father and brother. You don’t think I knew about that connection? You’re wrong, pup. And I’ll kill them, all of them horrifically and slowly… Unless you comply, that is. They went after you, you know? Back in the cave?” Zarkon said, twisting Keith’s wrist in his grip further, enjoying the pained gasps escaping his throat, his adams apple bobbed up and down as he forced down a dry swallow. “The Blue Paladin and Black Paladin watched you take out her eyes. They were so scared of you. How do you think they’ll react now, knowing your full history? Seeing the Galra come out of you in that blind fit of rage?” Zarkon expressed softly. Keith grimaced, teeth bared as he further tried to release himself from Zarkon’s hold, only to do more damage to his arms. He kicked out his legs behind him, he tried to toss himself, but nothing seemed to work. 

“They might not so easily accept you back now. If they even made it out of the cave, that is.” Keith stopped at this, eyes wanting to tear up from the thought of Lance and Shiro dead, stuck inside that horrid cave alongside Delora forever. Their bodies would have been crushed by boulders. Keith shivered; They deserved more than that for an ending, they deserved the world. They weren’t dead, they couldn’t be dead, Keith just knew it. He’d feel it they had. He’d know, he would have to.

“Just come with us. It’s already there, in your blood. You have Delora’s admireable impulsiveness, and when threatened correctly, you have a thirst for blood, for death, am I right?”

Keith remained silent, breathing loudly as Zarkon’s words hit him.

“You know I’m right. And with some help, we will release those feelings. You’ll know how to properly control those emotions, yield them to your power. You could be the most powerful Emperor after me, Keith. And only my own bloodline can fill that role.”

He moved away then, pushing Keith further into the window. Keith remained on his knees on the bed, back turned to Zarkon. 

From the distance he saw a large green planet nearing, a gold ring like Saturn turning around it. More powerful purple and blue pillar nebulas stood tall behind it in the background, surrounding the warped planet. 

“What are you going to do with me,” he asked out right, worried.

“I’m bringing you to our side. Whether you like it or not you will run this Empire.”

Keith gulped, sweat falling down his face as he felt Haggar’s raising magic nearby.

He already could see how they were going bring him over to their side. He knew pain and mental anguish were just around the corner. 

Tightening his fists and feeling Zarkon’s lingering and silent presence, Keith forced out another question. “And where exactly are we going?” Keith asked, a little shaken, the oncoming planet only moments away now. 

“To my planet.” Zarkon spoke with a hint of delight, watching as they orbited the system and began their descent into the land.

“I thought you didn’t have a home.” Keith said, his slight feint of sass all too obvious. He needed to push Zarkon’s boundaries, see how far he could go.

The aged Emperor looked to Keith sadly at this, not picking up the anger. With a shake to his head, he patted Keith’s hurt shoulders before departing the room. “I live here, Keith. But this isn’t my home.” 

Keith hated that he knew exactly what that meant.

* * *

Lance woke up with swollen and sore eyes. He went to move his hand to rub the sleep away, but ultimately noticed he couldn’t. More than a little confused, he moved his head. He found himself resting on Allura’s lap, the Princess sleeping above him calmly. Pidge had draped herself over him like a blanket, using Lance’s side as a pillow. Hunk cuddled them from behind, used to being the big spoon from his size. Coran sat beside the Princess, his head resting against her shoulder as he snored away.

At the movement of his hand, he noticed Pidge blink open too, yawning loudly as she stretched out. She looked towards Lance, a small smile on her tired face. “Hey.” She said.

Lance smiled back. “Hey.”

“What happened? Why are you all here?” 

Pidge lifted her arm up to squeeze his shoulder, resting her head back to his side and closed her eyes, trying to get a little more rest for the upcoming day.

“We found you passed out here, crying.” She explained. “We didn’t want to leave you outside, and Hunk just sat down and hugged you, so I did the same. I thought you woke up because you hugged us back, but I guess you didn’t…”

“No, I don’t remember anything.”

“That’s okay.” She said. “We all just followed after that.” 

“…. It’s nice, huh?” Lance asked. 

Pidge decided to open her eyes and look at Lance as he said this, always analytical. She blinked slowly at him again, looking around at this unrelated family they had made. “Yeah,” She decided. “It is.”

Hunk groaned from behind, hearing them talk. He moved to stretch his own arms and accidently hit Allura’s shoulder in the process, jostling her awake. Coran sat up straight, mumbling incoherencies while he anxiously smoothed out his moustache unconsciously.

Allura looked down at everyone, hand over top of Lance’s shoulder, rubbing it though his jacket.

Lance could say that he was okay with all this, waking up to (almost) everyone around him.

* * *

Keith screamed in pain. After orbiting the planet, Haggar finally made way for him. She forced him into different clothes, only now nearing a grey shirt and grey soft sweat pant that stopped at his calves. They were obviously made for a Galra, Keith suspected, since they were much too big. He had to tie the pants up on his side with some string he’d cut from the shirt. It was also the Galran equivalent to a medical outfit, Keith realized quickly. And then with her long fingers and nails, she grabbed him eerily, literally dragging him down the metallic hall.

With the help of the guards, they latched his hands and feet down onto a gurney in the corner, restraining him as they moved down the corridor, rolling him away.

They brought him to what appeared to be part science lab, part medical bay. He was transferred from the gurney to a lengthy silver table top, Hagger running her hands over his bony body. She felt around, very intrigued to investigate what made a mixed species tick. ‘How was he still fully human?’ she wondered out loud, cutting into his leg with her finger. ‘I don’t see any Galran DNA here, but I feel it.’ She spoke with a severe smile.

“You heard voices, am I right? Lets see how they got a hold of you.”

She pressed a hand onto his forehead, a power running through his as he screamed out in pain. He was being shocked by lightening through her deadened hands, burning him from the inside. It left him dazed, tired and sore. His muscles contracted and convulsed as she ran another jolt through his failing body.

“Most interesting.” She spoke, turning around and grabbing a needle.

“Now don’t you mind, but I’m going to root inside your head. You might feel jumbled when you come out, not knowing who you are.” She laughed and Keith could barely move his head to look at her, unsure of her word choice. 

“Oh, what am I saying. Of course you won’t know who you after this. It’s what makes the game so fun!”

She pressed another hand to his forehead, this time the an agonizing pain shooting through his mind as everything turned white and images flashed through his mind. He could hear her inside him, rooting through his memories and picking them apart. He tightened his fists, clenching his eyes as his heart raced. He could knock her out. He couldn’t allow her inside. He was stronger than this, if he… could just… focus-

He felt the buzz of the dagger, still deep inside his room yards away. He felt the energy, it’s humble presence nearby. He saw it’s beautiful blue and focused on the colour it chose to glow. Breathing through the pain, he imagined that energy moving, flowing like a stream into the tips of his fingers, charging there. He felt the spark on his calloused hands, holding the power steadily as he concentrated his energy into that one spot. He started feeling around, other presences nearby, closer, that also held quintessence, drawing forth it’s power. He drew the connection in his mind, forcing the flow to be achieved. And when the blue felt powered up enough, all sounds and feeling nearly blocked away, he saw an image of the paladins flash by him, their words and memories of the past running through him. 

‘ _You use friendship, family, and love as a defense. It can’t harm you when you feel safe.’_ Ylda had said.

Keith’s eyes opened wide with a surprised gasp, head whipping back. He shot through every memory, every moment he had within himself, yelling out as he did so. He felt the emotions clear as day while he passed through, reliving them, walking through them. An image of Pidge laughing was shown, Hunk cooking peacefully in the kitchen. He saw Allura angry, yelling at someone for flicking goo at her face. He saw Coran wiping his moustache anxiously. He saw Shiro holding him when he was younger, after a horrible nightmare, hushing him asleep.

He saw Lance above him, hand on his head and sleeping peacefully as Keith rested against his stomach at night.

“ _I meant what I said. We care about you, okay_?” More images of the Blue Paladin ran through his mind, the darkness overtaken with the other;s overconfident and grinning smile. It was so lopsided and so sly. Keith felt the panic slow down, reminiscing.

A blue flash appeared, covering him. He almost smiled when he heard Haggar scream, ripped and completely torn away from his body and mind by the harsh force.

“Why you fucking-!" 

He never heard the other’s words; his thoughts, however, remained with Lance.

* * *

Shiro woke up just a few hours after the Paladins had that morning. And as Allura had assumed, his leg wasn’t properly functioning. It was a surprise, but Shiro did have more movement and less muscle atrophy than she previously thought.

“I do think you’ll have a full recovery, but we will need to have your right leg taken care of.” Allura spoke as she helped seat Shiro in a wheelchair. “It’ll just take a matter of time. Just be patient.” 

“Patient is my middle name.” Shiro said with a wink. Allura rolled her eyes as Lance felt the need to barf. Allura rolled the other around in his chair, Shiro wincing at the movement. He looked down, his leg disfigured and morphed and completely unusable after they had placed it into a cast for the time being. Shiro was used to this kind of thing by now though, sighing as he ran a hand over the thick layer.

Hunk walked towards him, large piece of metal, wheels, and gears in his hands. Shiro looked at him confusedly. 

“It’s for you, if you want to walk. I made it up last night. It’s just, after everything is taken care of, I know it’ll be hard to get regain your balance. So when that happens after we get the full prosthetic made and connected, we will just secure this latch around your upper leg, secure it to your foot, and voila, leg training wheels! You can walk as long as you have a cane or something. It’s not ideal, but it’ll work for training.” Hunk smiled, showing off his mechanical device merrily.

Shiro was in visible pain from his seat, regarding it with a slight wince. “Thanks Hunk. I think that’ll come in handy, actually.” Hunk smiled widely, handing the gears to Allura who took it with a keen interest.

Shiro grabbed onto the wheels of his chair, moving around the room, glancing at everyone. 

He remained silent as he watched them all. “Keith?” He asked quietly, everyone wanting to turn away while he questioned the pink elephant in the room. Allura shook her head, placing Hunk’s gears on the control panel.

“Zarkon has him. We were lucky enough to get you out of there, Shiro, let alone Keith….” 

Shiro’s face fell at the information. The group could tell the exact moment his heart began to break, not being able to control his emotions displayed on his face at this point. “So the Galra have him now?” He asked anxiously, a hint of red appearing on his face as he actually became angry for once, letting himself go. 

Allura rubbed her own elbow with guilt, nodding her head.

“No, no, no! Allura, no! We have to go after him, who knows what they’re doing-“

“No!” Allura screamed back at him. “Shiro I simply can’t allow that to happen, at the very least not until you’ve healed accordingly. We have no pilot for Red as long as Keith is alive. Going to face Zarkon’s army _again_ would only endanger all of us.”

Shiro grunted at this, not allowing this to be the conclusion. “Allura, please! I can pilot the Black Lion, we don’t need Voltron if it’s only going to cause more damage to us. We just need to get in, get out. I refuse to sit here while those assholes take off with my brother!” He shouted.

Lance, standing in the corner with crossed arms made a whooping noise from Shiro’s declaration. “I concur!” He shouted, hands still high in the air. “What the head says goes!”

Allura shot both Lance and Shiro an angered look. “It is not up for discussion, we are not going to battle Zarkon until Shiro is better.”

Lance stood beside Shiro with is arms crossed.

“We go.” They said. 

“Stay.” Allura, Coran, Pidge, and Hunk agreed.

“Go!”

“Stay!”

“Go!”

“We’re staying!”

“We can’t leave Keith!” Shiro shot out, reaching forward wanting to make a statement with a stomp of his foot. Forgetting his position, he tilted forward, falling out of his wheelchair.

“Shiro!” Lance and Allura called out, grabbing the heavily breathing figure.

“Please, Allura,” Shiro begged as their faces hovered over hers. “He’s my family, all of our family. We can’t let him handle that alone. _Please._ We have to save him.” He begged, his own past traumas running over his eyes, displaying like a taunting horror film.

She placed a saddened hand on his shoulder, forcing him back down into his seat.

“I can’t Shiro. Not now, at the least. When you can walk and not have to wheel around, we can discuss it. Until then, I cannot allow us to march right into death. It’s better for everyone.” She sighed, then leaving the room for Shiro to settle down, the rest of the group following her. 

Shiro sat in his chair and Lance kneeled next to him, rubbing his hands over the other’s muscular arms.

“But, but he’s my brother. We have to- we have to, they can’t-“ Shiro placed his head into his hands, letting out a silent yet ashamed cry while the tears began to fall down his face. 

Lance looked concerned, holding the other through the tears.

“I know, Shiro. I know. I think we should go after him too, but, I just… we can’t.”

Shiro cried harder at this and Lance tightened his hold, feeling sick to his stomach as he swore he heard Keith yell his name in the distance.

* * *

They sat together, eating their meager portion sized meal of leftover goo, since Hunk didn’t feel like cooking today. Shiro and Lance sat alone, rolling their food around their bowls, dissecting it more than tasting it.

Lance sighed as he sat back in his seat.

“I hate this waiting around thing.”

Shiro looked wrecked. As the head of Voltron, he had to remain constantly logical, not allow his own emotions to hinder his decision-making. But this was Keith, his little foster brother, the boy he used to play around with, and who he forced into the Garrison. The boy who had, in return, saved Shiro on so many different occasions. Whenever Shiro was in trouble, it seemed that it was almost always Keith who got him out of it. Shiro felt that same responsibility towards him, needing him here and safe and away from harm. _For once._  

“I know, Lance. But they did make fair points. We are now down two Paladins and lions, it makes this entire situation a little more difficult.” He said through the clench of his teeth.

Lance nodded sadly, shoulders tense.

“I just wish we could save him… What happened to- I mean, I guess… What do you think is happening to him?” He asked, eyes shooting downcast.

Shiro gained the hint about what Lance was really asking, the silent _‘what happened to you_ ’ playing mildly in the background.

“I- I don’t want to say Lance, but if-“ Shiro had to take a steady inhale, holding himself. He would just have to take it slowly, word for word. “If it’s anything like what I remember, it isn’t good.” As typical for this type of conversation, Shiro looked down at his arm, clenching his hand and glancing over the Galran metal.

“If it was like me,” he continued, memories forming as he spoke. “There will be magic involved, painful and devastating magic. They’ll try to make him lose himself, turn him into a puppet, make him forget….”

He glanced up and saw Lance’s wide and unblinking eyes. The other took a quick glance down to Shiro’s arm too, and then back up to Shiro’s eyes.

“Shiro-“

“But, I think he has luck on his side. If what Delora showed us was true, that means…. That means that Keith is Galran, and just didn’t know it. It means he’s Zarkon’s own grandson, heir of the Empire. That has to mean something." 

Lance cackled slyly. “Yeah, that title really helped out his Mother, didn’t it. Zarkon’s own daughter, sheesh, what a family…..”

Shiro sighed. “I know, Lance. I’m just- I’m hoping for the best here. It’s all we have right now.”

Lance turned away, shame present over his features. “I’m sorry, Shiro." 

“It’s okay, Lance. This entire situation isn’t your fault. No need to apologize-“

“No, I mean, not that. I’m sorry that you had to go through all of that before, after the Garrison, I know it must have been horrible, and that’s an only an understatement, and… and I’m sorry about what I said to you before we left to Mascalon.” Lance folded his hands together, cowardly looking away from Shiro as he confessed.

“You got to close to what I was hiding, to what I was trying to make sure didn’t happen. I didn’t want to believe that I- that Keith-“ Lance sighed. “I was afraid, and I didn’t want to be pushed forward with feelings that I wasn’t even completely understanding yet. And then you brought it up and I snapped, and said some pretty terrible things. So, for that also, I wanted to apologize.”

“Lance-“

“And I also wanted to thank you. For still working with us throughout Voltron, I know it must be hard still being out here, fighting the Galra, after everything. But mostly, I wanted to say thank you for saving me from that cave. “ Lance felt his shoulders begin to shake, trying to hold himself together as he spoke, but the emotion remained overwhelming. “My- my body wasn’t working, and you could have just left me. But you didn’t, and now your leg-” Lance started to cry as well, emotions still high from everything that was happening. He felt weak at all this, but it felt like it was all he could do.

He heard Shiro wheel himself around closer to Lance, holding onto his shaking knee.

“I know, Lance. I understand. It’s why I didn’t take it to heart when you yelled at me. I’m sorry for pestering, and for pressuring you when it wasn’t the right time. I am sorry too.”

He rubbed the others clothed knee-cap, shushing him and waiting calmly for the Cuban boy to quiet down. 

Lance sniffed. “I’m just worried about him, you know? I can’t stop thinking about him, what they’re doing to him. And what am I doing? Crying over my goo and doing nothing.” He spoke bitterly, head in his hands.

“But you have good reason to, Lance. Allura already told us we couldn’t force ourselves to take on Zarkon. It would be a losing battle. And we can’t help Keith if we’re dead.”

Lance nodded. “Yeah, I know…. Still sucks though.”

Shiro chuckled. “I know. I feel that too.”

They remained at the table, quiet and unmoving until they had enough, calling it a night, their food left behind for the mice’s nightly feast

* * *

Keith figured out why they had taken him. For Zarkon it had only been a small part of him needing an heir for his Empire, a bloodline he had realized he needed too late for his people to actually devote themselves to. But that was only so much of it, that it made Keith sick for allowing himself to believe it was only that reason alone. 

They too wanted the dagger. It could yield horrendous amounts of power; power that Zarkon wanted and needed to complete his goal. And yet, only Keith could use it. Delora had been close, but that had only been through Keith’s own faulty ignorance. He hadn’t understood the alchemy and what was happening.

Haggar had tried breaking him, using his mind to understand how to control the alchemic properties, but to no avail.

Keith knew his body had been transported back to his barren room, all too quiet and severe. He had heard Zarkon and Haggar distractedly bickering to each other, unhappy that Keith was able to prevent Haggar from yet again entering his mind, torturing him into an endless madness. Keith wasn’t going to forget, nor was he going to allow them to activate his mother’s dagger; they just had to get that through their thick skulls. He could be just as stubborn as them, even if it did kill him.

Zarkon had carried Keith back to his room, still assuming the boy was asleep since Keith could barely move his aching limbs.

Keith had been surprised when Zarkon brought in a thin blanket, laying it over the Paladin and tucking it in by his sides almost tenderly. Keith sighed, lulling instantly into a lonely dreamland.

He saw Delora there; her human body was in full form rather than the transparent soul he had met in reality. “Delora?” He called out, a little unsure of what was happening. They were together in a forest at night, the trees hovering over them, smiling widely and rudely while rain poured over them them. Thunder was heard in the far distance, and rain seemed to be falling harshly through the wind.

Keith moved forward to the faux-campsite, closer to his grandmother

She sat on a log, hovering around a fire, still deranged and shaking. From behind, Keith could tell that hair was haggard and unkept, messy and knotted in every direction. Even in his dreams she was a broken soul.

Delora didn’t turn to him, hands feeling the flames in bliss and awe. “Hello, Keith. I was wondering when you’d join me,” her roughened voice giggled.

He walked around, noticing another log appear out of thin air on her opposite side. “There, take a seat. I made it myself.” She said, face still down and never parting from the heat. Her bangs fell over her eyes protectively, though he could see her raw and reddened lips from the distance, moving in silence.

Keith sat, hands in his pockets and was surprised to see that he was wearing his suit of armour. He blinked and extended his hands as he looked at the familiar outfit. He subconsciously tried to reach back into his mid, call out to Red, ‘ _Where are you?’_ but nothing was there. He was too far away and this was only dream after all, and dreams rarely made sense, no matter the context.

“You have questions, don’t you child?” 

Keith snapped back and nodded, knowing she didn’t see him with her eyes, but could sense his unsteady presence. She somehow just knew his answer. 

“And why do you think I’ll answer them? After killing me?”

Keith sneered and he threw out his hands in defense. “I didn’t kill you. You killed yourself in madness.”

She giggled, shoulders shaking.” I guess in a way I did. I did only want to be human after all" 

“And you used me and my mother’s dagger to do that. You never cared who you were hurting, as long you got what you wanted.” She continued to smile at this, hands moving through the flames and onto the ashen logs, breathing in the sulfur with satisfaction.

“Warmth, that smell, that pain. Isn’t being a human glorious.”

Keith remained silent, watching as her skin never burned.

“I don’t understand your obsession with it.” Keith spoke out quietly. “I wouldn’t mind not having to feel…”

“Hmmm.” She sounded out. “I know, Paladin. That was my plan at first, turn you into the spirit and myself into the human, trade lives since it seemed to be what you wanted. Given your past with some of those foster parents, and your survival instincts, you turned off your emotions to keep yourself from harm, aren’t I right? But it still hurt you, no matter how hard you tried to keep things from getting to you.” 

Keith looked down at this, biting his lip albeit nodding.

“Growing up and never knowing love, never knowing the feeling of a mother’s kiss or hug. It’s simply _tragic.”_

Keith couldn’t look at her as she continued to mock him, belittle him further.

“But you see, kid, before becoming a spirit I ran only on my emotions. Everything I did was based on my instincts, my feelings. They were the main part of me… You try living only in an empty cave for 10,000 years, without the one thing that made you you. Trust me, you may like the idea of a life without feelings, but it will make you deranged in the long run. No one can last…”

Keith turned back towards her. “Still doesn’t justify it.” 

She paused thoughtfully at this. “Guess it doesn’t. But it doesn’t justify that I still believe you killed me.

“We went over this, you killed yourself.” He argued with petulance.

Delora staggered upward then, standing and swaying. She shot her head upwards, finally looking directly at Keith with evident anger. Her eyes were still gone, only the open wounds of the human sockets left. Keith felt disgusted, never one believing he had a future as a doctor, nausea overriding his stomach as he analyzed the leftover space. The veins still moved and pulsed like there was something there, vision still seeing from the area He hated human organs, believed it wasn’t something he should ever look at. He almost threw up. 

“Want to try that again, boy? You may not have been the stones that pierced my body, but you sure did blind me to lead to that conclusion.” She barked out. She remained standing, still holding some sort of dark glare on the stilled Keith.

“Go on, child. I don’t have all night. And I’m already angered enough as it is, now ask me your question before I kill you too.” If she had fangs, Keith would have sworn they would be been drawn out as she spat out her anger.

Keith gulped in fear, almost falling over the log. Her rage had an immediate effect on his dream environment, the cold rain falling into hail, the wind sharpening as the fire went out with a drawn out smoke. And the trees laughed like coyotes from behind, bellowed and raspy; their branches flung sharply as though amused at his situation, clapping like an applauding audience.

“It’s about the dagger.” He yelled out over the hail and on coming thunder. 

Delora snickered tauntingly. “Of course it is,”

“The dagger is keeping me human, isn’t it?” Keith called out in his mind, forcing his words towards her.

She stilled, becoming gentle. She flicked her chin hesitantly, bird like and thinking. “Yes, Keith.”

“Because my Mom put her own spirit and power into it? She formed a sort of spell to keep me in this form, right?”

Delora smiled, always having been proud of her daughter’s capabilities. “Yes." 

“And if I destroy it, I wont be human anymore will I?" 

Delora sighed, watching the rising smoke with a hint of remorse. “Without the dagger, my daughter’s power will finally be drained. Her soul will leave this realm and your dormant genes will appear. You will turn into the being you truly are. ”

He woke up in a cold sweat. He sat up then, looking out the window to the obscure planet: Multiple islands floated in the overcast sky, water miles and miles down below, Keith could see. Big, small, yet all islands were over run by the lush nature. Tall trees, large green grass, vines and flowers of every colour seemed to have complete control here, no one to destroy the natural peace. 

He felt his forehead press against the cool glass, saddened. His heart wrenched, angered that this is what his fate had given him. A parent-less childhood, a friendless life, and now this- becoming a part of the same species that he was fighting against in an intergalactic war. Just when he had finally felt that he had belonged, he finally found a family- and now he was everything that they hated.

But one thing was for sure, ears picking up Haggar’s and Zarkons feet walking down the hallway, hearing the breathy needs for the dagger’s power, he knew what he had to do; Keith had to destroy the dagger. 

* * *

 Lance stayed awake that night, alone and in desolated solitude. He sat up in his bed, looking out the window to the space far away. They were passing an asteroid field, dangerous and lurking. Large purple and crimson elephant trunks of intergalactic space dust, reminiscent of the Eagle Nebula, stood tall behind them. Lance immediately thought of how Keith would probably see a challenge there, in the meteor field, a racing competition silently being created.

 _Idiot._ Lance smiled fondly.

He turned, looking at the Altean clock. It was mostly nonsensical but it gave Lance the information he needed to know, and was waiting for. It was deep into the night, everyone asleep and in their quiet rooms. 

Eyebrows drawn together, he lifted himself from his bed sheet. He grabbed the bag he’d placed there that evening, filled with some clothes, a pillow, a blanket, and a lot of food, water and bandages. He didn’t know how long he’d be gone for, it could be a day, it could be months, so Lance packed lightly but efficiently. He wore his everyday outfit, jacket on and pulled on his shoes, his bayard and suit already in Blue.

He got up slowly, throwing the bag over his shoulder. He grabbed the small hand written note from his desk, holding it tightly as he left his room. He turned to see nebulas shine brightly from outside the familiar window, before the door closed off entirely, Lance near mourning the sight. He walked gently past all his friends’ room, laughing quietly to himself from Pidge’s loud snores. He always had assumed it would have been Hunk to be the snorer, surprised that instead it had been the little firecracker of a Green Paladin to make those loud noises. 

He walked into the dining room, his last stop before doing what he needed to do. Lance placed the note there, on the middle of the table where he knew everyone would sit come morning for breakfast. It was a short, sweet, hand-written mess. 

In the morning after Lance had long since disappeared, no alarms going off when he took off on his own with the Blue Lion, it had been Shiro to first find the note. He picked it up after training his arms in the arena, not having been able to sleep the night before from his interrupting nightmares. Reading it over, he was confused but became more distressed and dare he say _proud_ of his teammate. He felt himself shake a little, shouting as he took off rolling down the hall, yelling for Allura to wake up.

_‘Guys, I know you’re right, I do. We can’t just throw ourselves into battle, it’d do more harm than good. But I can’t sit around here waiting anymore. If I can have the chance to do something before anything bad happens, I’m going to try._

_I once told Keith that we cared about him, that I care about him. That I would anything for him. And this time I’m keeping true to my word._

_I’m sorry._

_From the awesomest, most intelligent, and handsomest of the bunch, your Blue Paladin,_

_Lance.’_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma be honest here, next week's chapter has been giving me grief for about a month now. So I have deleted it, and am rewriting it. Due to my never being able to write a short chapter, this may take a little while.Also writers block became a thing so I wrote another short sotry instead.... So, a chapter might not be updated next week, especially since my jobs are picking up now that its the holidays = less time to write/edit/rest/live. I'm literally doing 90 hrs right now, haha? :p :'( 
> 
> But please have your fingers crossed for me, I really want to get it up next week, because the rest of the fic is edited and done :)
> 
> Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! See you hopefully soon, and if you wish, leave a kudos or comment, I appreciate anything :) Thank you to everyone who had commented or left a kudos so far, it honestly means more to me than you know!!
> 
> And shameless shoutout to myself, follow me on tumblr!: www.turnawaytherose.tumblr.com, I sometimes reblog cool shit


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some mild violence, a little blood mentioned and a weapon being stabbed into someone, but nothing like previous chapters. The really graphic shit is out of the way as of now, only mild violence will be shown. So now lets just enjoy all the oncoming angst I have coming your way!!! :D :)

Lance, admittedly, had no idea what on Earth he was doing. And he wasn’t even on Earth, that’s how far out of his mind he was. The idea was deranged, stupid, lacking common sense. But he couldn’t stop picturing Keith, alone, and by himself. And for some reason that _killed_ Lance. He hated how attached he’d become to the other lately, needing to know he was safe and just there. His chest tightened while his thoughts drifted over to the Red Paladin yet _again_.

Blue and Lance had driven for what felt like days through the void of Space, only to currently take a break on top of a floating meteor. The vastness that Space created was taunting, unfamiliar, and near cruel to what Lance was searching for. It seemed to tease him with its unending expenditure and landscape. It wasn’t as exciting and adventuresome as it had been when he first entered the Garrison. Now he was just simply tired and frustrated with it all.

He researched his maps, dissected them to the tenth degree but sighed as it all became blatantly useless. He didn’t even have a wormhole to use. He was lost. He didn’t know where anyone was, and they didn’t know where he was, due to severing ties with the other Lions before leaving. He had one mission, and he hadn’t wanted to involve the others, hurt them further.

_How stupid had he been?_

Lance cried out, turning on his communicator for the first time, only to find no signals reaching out to him. He was too far away.

Lance fell in his seat, throwing his half eaten energy bar angrily across the room.

He was truly alone. And he found as he curled in on himself that even his memories could no longer offer comfort. 

* * *

Haggar and Zarkon seemed to take delight in hurting him. He’d already been through four sessions as of now, and nothing had happened yet save for Keith having been put through the wringer.

Haggar was only growing more frustrated with her own inability to penetrate his mind, even as Keith grew weaker. It had only started from necessity; Keith admitted to himself that he was slowly figuring out how to yield the magic from the dagger. If he just concentrated, he could pull that familiar buzzing towards him, drag it lustfully into his tips of his fingers, allowing it to swirl and hover around his nails before he deepened the magic, forcing it over his body like a shield. It was starting to become more frequent that during the height of these moments, he could feel his mother’s spirit. She spoke words to him, the same sounding language as Delora had once used. But Keith grasped what his mother was telling him. There was a darkness behind the words, a taunt and something chaotic and destructive. Keith could feel the disarray and he understood.

But there were other sources, too, Keith realized. He didn’t just have to draw from his Mother’s dagger, though that was the easiest and most powerful; he could draw the power from elsewhere, in particular the ship. As long as something had energy, had quintessence, Keith could use it for his own purpose. He’d be excited over this, if the only way he hadn’t discovered his power was through a need of survival and keeping Haggar at bay.

He had just come back from their latest session, not even sure of how much time had past since he had first been taken. He could barely hold up his hand, feeling weak and wanting to sleep, and yet sleep just never came. They had taken off the shoulder strap, so Keith at least has some more movement there. But he knew they were trying to break him, make him so frail that he’d have to allow them into his mind. And he was getting scared; he knew that moment was close, lurking just around the corner.

Holding his dagger in fitful fingers to his chest, he took a deep breath, leeching some of the power and moving it into his own body, easing the pain just a little and making it easier to move.

He knew he was just on a break, that Zarkon and Haggar wanted him broken _today_. He could feel their close presence as he absorbed the energy and it frightened him. They were so close, just down the hall, waiting for whatever reason. Probably allowing Hagger a rest. This was difficult on Haggar as well, Keith thought minutely.

He painfully sat himself up in the bed with a heavy groan, arm hanging limply as he tried to move his searing muscles. He looked out the window, noticing only the grey clouds swarming around them. They were high up now, probably floating closer to space at this point then they were to the ground.

He drew himself onto his knees, hands on top of the glass, one still clenching the dagger. He quieted his beating heart from its movement, chest enraged and tightening as he breathed. He focused on the energy, the buzz all around him, filling him like a starved bear finally taking its prey. He clenched his fingers, drawing the energy from the sword, even going further and taking as much as he could from the ship. 

The entire ship faltered and tilted to its side suddenly, losing control of the wings engine. It quickly responded and recovered, hovering slowly back to a horizontal line. He heard Zarkon’s concerned echo down the corridor.

“What was that?” He had murmured.

“Something’s happening, sir.” Haggar spoke.

A blue ring of swirling mist fell from Keith as he felt himself let go, the power losing itself in a cloud as he heard Haggar and Zarkon

 _Okay, Keith. Okay. Just concentrate._  

Quieting his mind, he thought back to his fingers and the mist on the ground. He absorbed the quintessence again, slower this time, preparing a better handle on it all. The blue glow turned into a deep viridian as he clenched his teeth, using all of his own capability to hold onto it. Drawing back the dagger, he opened his eyes, noticing how everything appeared more bright and vibrant during his most wondrous and flowing state.

With a loud scream, he plunged the dagger and its alchemy into the window, shattering a large portion of the glass. The pieces flew downwards, and wind immediately struck the room, whipping around Keith and drying his eyes out.

“It’s the boy! Zarkon he’s sucking the power out of the ship!” Haggar screeched.

With a gasp, Keith used his bare elbow to break more of the glass. He felt his skin rip deeply while blood whipped away from the dry blast. He watched, the cracks extending and becoming more bold with their outlines, appearing eerily like a vein. And finally, the entire glass panel broke with a fragmented shatter, collapsing all on its own. Glass flew everywhere, and Keith protected his eyes with is arm. 

Pieces embedded themselves into his visible skin, which was a lot given he only had on his normal tee shirt and the white pants used for Haggar’s science lab. The grey shirt mixed quickly with the crimson red, so raw and dark that Keith knew if Hunk had been there, well… Sickness wouldn’t be too far away. 

He gripped the panel, pushing his head forward and outside the airship. The wind instantly hit him like a wall and forcing him to the side. He held his grip and rearranged himself, crawling so his feet were gripped tight to the outer walls, his entire body now outside with his fingers latched on against the ship as his only anchor. He really had no plan, except maybe trying to climb to the top of the ship. He knew he just needed to get away. 

He saw his bedroom door collapse on itself, Zarkon blasting it open with his gun-like bayard’s powerful shot.

The Emperor made another shot for the window, and Keith flew out of the way, dropping one of his arms as he extended himself backwards as though he was playing a game of limbo. He tossed his head back when the purple flame flew over and fell into nothingness inside the greying clouds behind him.

Keith reached up for the panel again, lowering himself down to the ledge just below him, trying to remain away from Zarkon’s reach. He forgot how large the other being was.

Zarkon hovered over him outside of the window, hand too easily reaching down and grabbing Keith’s hurt arm, twisting it painfully.

Keith would have cried out if the wind hadn’t sucked his voice dry.

Zarkon extended Keith outward, forcing the boy away from the ship. Keith lost his grip with the window and his feet fell from the ledge. He was left swinging in the air with only Zarkon’s grip holding him up. He looked down, the feel of the wind rushing through his liberated legs.

Zarkon smiled down on him easily. “You thought you could escape me? Wrong move.”

He started pulling Keith back inside the chaotic room, Haggar right behind him already extending her lightening, ready to strike once Keith’s body was back inside.

Keith did cry out at the sight, pushing himself further from the death grip over his arm. Using fear as a survival tactic, Keith grabbed onto Zarkon’s bicep with his free hand, still holding the dagger. His head now back inside the room, he pressed his legs and waist against the outside panel, using his own strength to keep away from Zarkon. He couldn’t go back in there, he refused. He bared his teeth, gasping in pain; Zarkon’s strength was more evident as his feet slid upward, his waist and chest falling forward over and into the room, ripping against the remaining remnants of glass as he was pulled forward against the panel. Half his body was inside the room while the other half was still stretched out and hanging outside.

With one last scream, he pulled the dagger’s power into himself, and held onto Zarkon’s dark crimson robe. He pulled the viridian glowing weapon back, and forced it inside of Zarkon’s arm that held him, tearing it as he dragged it down the muscle. This didn’t have the effects he wanted, as Zarkon only screamed and actually pulled Keith inside harder. Keith felt the skin at his stomach tear even further. With a wince, he tore dagger forcefully from Zarkon’s arm. He turned his hand in Zarkon’s grip, pressing it against the cloth and violet skin. He clenched his teeth, and pulled as much energy as he could, focusing only on the robes the heated skin of his palm.

He let go, the energy coming out in an extended rush from the area he focused on. And with an explosion of raw power, he felt sparks fly around them. Zarkon cried out in pain, his hand burnt from Keith’s power surge, finally letting go of the boy. 

Keith flung himself back, finally out of Zarkon’s grip. And since he had used his feet as leverage, and jumped away due to instincts, he soon felt himself flying backwards, no grip on the ship. 

There was a moment where he hovered in slow motion, watching as Zarkon flung himself back outside the window, trying to reach out to Keith, hand swaying slowly as he watched in despair. Haggar released her pent up lightning from behind, letting it flow to the sky above. Both watched from the window as Keith fell silently towards the ground.

Greying and frozen clouds moved through him, past him, soon covering up the ship. He saw in the furthering distance as Haggar released another lightning strike, the black form of the disappearing ship becoming evident through the lightened haze of the bold cloud.

Keith held his dagger as he fell downwards, head first, wind whipping around him in comfort.

He used up all the energy he had left, and had even gone overboard. He used more than his body could handle. 

Tightening his grip on the buzzing dagger, Keith felt himself lose consciousness as he tumbled towards the incoming land, still acres and acres away and left unseen. The clouds were still surrounding him like a coveted blanket, keeping him safe.

Feeling as though death was near by the unseen land and floating islands, Keith closed his eyes with sigh. He was relieved; he wouldn’t have to deal with his life anymore. Flying downwards in a free fall with a beautiful silence and all alone, it was peaceful; this was all he had ever known.

Keith could die happy with that.

* * *

Lance had seen the similar viridian before. The beam seemed to flash like a twinkling star, gazing only at Lance from the horizon. It was so hypnotic that it drove Lance straight out of his nap, calling out to him and only him.

Feeling the spark from his shaking hands, Lance flew forward from his resting place in Blue’s bunker, hearing the faint sound of Blue’s excitement behind his eyes. He stared momentarily, noting how this hadn’t yet just been another teasing dream of his. But he felt the spark again, heard Blue’s insistent growl. He reached out and on his feet, grabbed her controls, moving her forward automatically from their resting place on the floating meteor. He felt Blue jump up and take off elegantly, moving towards the calling star. It left Lance in an incessant trance, his body on autopilot while he moved. He flew as quick as time, trying to never lose his eyesight on the star. He remained standing, too involved at he task at hand to think any differently.

It seemed to be over too quickly, the star closer than he assumed and a planet appeared in his line of sight. The green plant was large, and Lance wish he had a camera as he drew closer into the galaxy. There was a gold ring tossing around the planet, and large vibrant nebula pillars standing tall behind, lending as an incredible backdrop. That was a sight to wake up to every morning, Lance imagined. Warped colours faded their dance as he slowed Blue down, taking in the new solar system.

Lance could feel his Lion’s hesitance from entering the misted orbit. He was surprised immediately by how Earthly it felt. He was protected by massive sets of rain clouds, grey and blacks evening his playing field. He saw the quick flash of viridian again, and continued to fly downward in his pursuit. Blue flew over a floating island, and Lance was shocked by the Amazonian like-greens he saw. It was so lush, so covered over by miraculous forests and water. Rain and greys seemed to be everywhere as he continued to race over the clouds before diving on through.

He noticed the Galran fleets that surrounded him on his map and by Blue’s senses, yet they never seemed to notice him. Lucky, he guessed, since he used the clouds as a shield to hide himself. He saw the thunder extended to the depths above himself; an anger exuded with it as he brushed past the unknown large airship without another thought.

He only flew towards where he felt the light, flew to where he knew Keith would be. In mere seconds, he saw the ground from beneath, the serene landscape coming into view. It was a large valley, a raging river running through and similar looking to the Mascalons world. In hindsight, it was eerily reminiscent to Ylda’s cottage. Here however it still remained lush and green, the mountain range expanding in the distance. The clouds kept the sun out, the rain pouring heavily over the darkened land. It was truly beautiful. 

And from beneath and in the middle of the circular mountain range, he saw a large stoned building, pillars and towers rising from the terrain. It looked like kind of like one of those watchtowers and sanctuaries from the 16th Century or something, the ones Lance was used to seeing in his history textbooks in school. He landed fitfully in the distance, finding a large underbush of green hedges to hide Blue beneath. She still stood out like a sore thumb, but it was better than nothing he assumed sadly. He departed her cockpit, feeling antsy. He analyzed the new planet through his helmet, checking over the oxygen levels. Once he aw they were okay for his body, he swung off his helmet, breathing in the fresh air. The coldness of it was hard hitting, and the smell was different than Earth, strangely. More crisp and hardy scented, like the middle of a fall day, just more intense.

He walked towards the strange stoned tower and pillars surrounding it, placing his gloved hand on top of the roughened material. Its age showed as clear as dawn when he glazed his hand over it, layers of dust peeling off and falling to the ground. There were ruins all over the place, the entrances half collapsed, but still standing completely erect.

The strange calling tuned up a notch, and Lance shot his eyes over, seeing the soft viridian glow hunkered on the side of the hill. It rose in misted formed upwards, like sunlight coming out of separating clouds onto the ocean after a storm. It flowed between the long swaying grass, and Lance would have barely have noticed it if he hadn’t been drawn to it. He ran over, shouting Keith’s name as he moved through the layered meadow and away from the watchtower. The viridian glow faded, and one last show of pure azure blue echoing out before it drained away completely. Lance moved through the grass, falling on his knees to where the glow had been. 

His hands landed distinctly on a peacefully sleeping Keith. Lance shouted in surprise and darted back, falling on his ass none to carefully.

“No, no way!” He shot back forward back onto his knees, moving the sweeping green grass from over top of the sleeping boy, getting a good look.

Keith was pale, and from how his arm and wrist were swelling around the intense bruise, Lance knew his time away couldn’t have been good.

With a gulp, Lance brushed his hand over Keith’s shoulder, shaking the sleeping Paladin.

Keith stirred with a slight moan, his eyes clenching before they peaked open. Lance watched as he blinked softly, glancing around at the area in question. His eyebrows knitted closely. “What?” He questioned simply. “Where are, how am I…. Lance?” He spoke out.

“Wow, try not to sound too enthusiastic.” Lance tried to joke. He noted Keith’s dry wheezes behind the grated expression, and pulled a water bottle from the small bag on his hip. He carefully dragged Keith into a slight sitting position against his knees, holding him upwards. He opened the bottle cap, placing the damp lid against the other’s dry lips.

Keith chugged the water like there was no tomorrow. Dribbles of water fell down his chin and onto his torn shirt, and Lance gave him a squeeze. He pulled away when Keith had practically drowned himself, worried the other would throw it back up from days of disuse. He didn’t want to overwhelm the other’s body. Keith sighed, relaxing against Lance. He lifted his hand to touch Lance’s chin, fingertips dragging against his skin.

The dew of the meadow surrounded them in an ashen mist, droplets of water falling from the tall grass over Lance’s head, wetting his own distraught face. Keith just kept his hand there, looking at Lance with a hint of a smile.

“Is this a dream?” Keith asked quietly in disbelief. Lance took the hand on his chin into his palm, holding it closely. 

“No, Keith. This isn’t a dream. You’re alive.”

Keith looked down, his body still in a malnourished state, not quite comprehending everything. “I dreamt of you, back on the ship. Your voice saved me, when you sang, it sounded familiar....”

Lance gave out a feint laugh as Keith pushed himself up just a bit more forward, his stomach in tremendous pain from the cuts attained on the ship. 

“You must really like someone singing to you, huh?” Lance tried, grimacing at Keith’s pained expression.

Keith stilled, looking around emotionless. He nodded nonetheless, and yet offering no further detail. Until finally-

“The ship?! I was on Zarkon’s ship!” He lurched forward, turning once again to Lance with a rudely pointing finger and furiously blinking eyelashes.

“And you’re here! But how? And where are the others? Where are the lions? How am I even still alive?! I was free falling, I mean-”

Lance grabbed Keith’s bruised hand that held onto the dagger, never letting the object go. He sighed, running his hands over it. “Yah, I’m here.” Lance said with a small laugh. “Believe it or not, but I think it was you who called me here…” When Keith offered a questioning expression with a flick of his eyebrows, Lance rolled his eyes and continued speaking.

“I think it was your alchemy that I saw, like, galaxies away. It was like this intense viridian coloured buzz that I couldn’t tear myself away from, like it hypnotized me and only allowed me to moves towards this direction. I couldn’t even think about anything else. You called me here, Keith, your alchemy did. It must have saved you from the fall as well.”

Keith bit his lip, dropping his head into his hand with an exhausted sigh. “But I was unconscious, I used up all the energy that I could to escape Zarkon. It couldn’t have been me!”

“Maybe not, but it wasn’t the azure blue that it usually is. I think- I think the azure is your Mom’s energy,” Lance explained carefully, remembering back in the ship when he sang to Keith. The blue had been more deep then previous times, more beautiful and all the more gentle. Lance wasn’t afraid when he saw its sparkle. “And I think Delora’s was lighter, like an icy cold colour. But the colour I saw, it was viridian, a mix but entirely different… I think that’s you, Keith.”

Keith turned to look at Lance through his parted fingers. He couldn’t turn away. Lance was being so open to him, so sweet, and he’d just come all this way because Keith apparently _called out_ to him? Keith wasn’t even sure what was happening anymore. Then again, throughout any stage of his life, did Keith ever have a grasp on what was happening? He shook his head, realizing his rather pathetic and dire state of being. 

He heard Lance shuffle a bit more beside him, looking around. He brushed a few blades away, and lengthy streams of icy cold water fell down onto their heads and down their spines, sending frozen chills to their bones. 

“Ahhhk! Lance!” Keith shouted as he shot up, looking around. He grabbed onto Lance for leverage, trying to remain on his feet. His body was lethargic, not wanting to move and prefer to sleep for another 10,000 years, but Keith couldn’t allow that to happen. At least not right now. 

Lance hummed, holding his arm out for Keith to lean against. He silently pointed to the tower, Keith nodding as he breathed loudly. They walked up the field’s hill, stoned ruins in their path as they walked on. Lance pushed themselves forward, hearing a crack of thunder form in the distance. He turned, and saw the literal greying wall of rain coming their way. It ran across the field, drowning the plants with its intensity and speed. Lance sighed, pulling the dazed Keith towards the ancient tower at a slightly faster pace. He didn’t mind being wet, he’d just prefer to not be caught in the middle of a fucking typhoon.

Keith felt the familiar buzz as he stepped onto a marked trail. His eyes shot up, and they found themselves at the collapsed door of a large stoned tower, walls and walls of cracked stone overlooking Keith. Vines and plants evaded the architecture, displaying years of abandonment.

A memory shot quickly over his eyes, and Keith saw the tower from years past.

There was no nature, no surrounding vines and lengthy grass. Instead there was barren terrain and smoke rising on the fields from the ruthless war. Keith could smell the sulfur surrounding him, the ashen soot covering the land. He turned, seeing the familiar figure, running to take down a Galran soldier near the raging river, a few yards away from Keith. As the man did so, and blissfully cheered himself on after succeeding, he turn only to be stabbed by a sword, twice his size. Keith watched as the life fell from the Galran’s eyes, blood coughing out of his mouth. It was when Kevin, his father, had died just outside. His mother had been sitting inside this exact tower at the time during a meeting. It shocked Keith, understanding that the war was a literal battle physically happening outside, down in the meadow below. Everything had been burnt, crisp, ugly from the individuals undeclared anger for each other. The environment looked nothing like now.

Keith fell back into reality, Lance literally shoving him through the entrance, merely escaping the powerful winds and rain.

Keith stayed still, his mind replaying what the environments quintessence had decided to show him. He felt his bangs fall forward over his face, wet and limp from the rain and days without a shower. He wanted to laugh at Zarkon’s continual idea of irony, now residing on this small planet his daughter had once fought him on. Where his own true descent had begun.

“Where do you think we are?” Lance asked the question. He stood near the entrance, just out of harms way from the stewing rain that was creeping it’s way inward. He saw the dark form of a ship from behind the rain cloud, beginning its descent onto the ground opposite of the riverbed. Lance gulped, slowly moving backwards. 

Keith blinked. “I think-“ He grinned, truly disgusted. “Zarkon said this was his home planet now, the one he lives on…”

“So what? Is this like an old Zarkonian settlement from the days of yore or what’s going on? Why’d he choose here? No offence, but this place is too lush and beautiful. I always figured he’d go for more of a volcanic, destructive type planet, you know? Complete the bad boy stereotype? Like maybe the kind of planet you were on when we found you… Except less sun.”

Lance stood with is back turned to Keith, his arms uncrossed and out protectively as he looked outside. Keith didn’t miss when his shoulders tensed and he unlocked his bayard. Keith, however, did barely notice the look of anger that intruded his beautiful and soft features. 

The Red Paladin hummed. “It didn’t always look like this…” Lance notably straightened at that, turning to Keith, hearing the slight upward hitch in Keith’s voice. “What? What do you mean? Keith, what’s going on?” 

Keith placed his palms together, running his fingers together anxiously like Coran with is moustache. “I think this is Killachrome. This is the planet my Mom was on, and I think… I think this is the watch tower she was in during her meeting, when she found out about…” Keith worried his lip, unable to say the words.

“When she heard about your father…” Lance pushed his way from the door, taking one last look outside. The ship settled into the grass, the rain still pouring over its massive size. If this was that watchtower from Delora’s memories, than that would mean the meadow where the ship was below would have been where- 

Lance stopped, grabbing Keith’s shaking hands.

“Come on, you’re hurt and tired. Lets get you rested up and something in your stomach before we head back to Blue, get out of this world forever, yeah?”

Keith nodded solemnly at Lance’s over enthusiastic and needlessly fake tone. He knew that wasn’t Lance true motivations to run away from the entrance. He could feel Zarkon’s and Haggar’s oncoming presences, heated, angry, ready to kill now that Keith had performed the highest level of disrespect to the Emperor. He was sure that Zarkon wasn’t just going to let him walk away unscathed after literally tearing his arm open. And that entire thing about not becoming his grandiose heir? Yeah, Keith could only expect the worst.

Lance dragged him further into the remnants of the large tower, twists and turns and secret hallways at every corner. It was a literal maze, made for only for the best to come through.

Keith shivered, ignoring his Mother’s energy that seemed to be bursting with delight at his hips. He could sense their past, and choked down his own nausea. So much had happened here and he knew so little. 

“It was a vision.” Keith confessed, still being dragged forward by the Blue Paladin, who obviously had no idea what he was looking for or where to find it, leading them only further into the dark and damp unknowing that was the ruined military home base.

“Hmmm.” 

“It just appeared out of nowhere, like Delora’s memories.” Keith couldn’t stop, now finding his own voice and needing to speak. “One second I was with you, and the next, memories flashed that weren’t my own. I didn’t have a handle on it, it wasn’t my own power. But think its this land. I think this tower holds quintessence, and I think it’s trying to tell me something.”

Lance stopped, ending up in a large hallway with nothing facing them but foliage covered walls and a blind darkness. He glanced up at the heightened ceilings. Everything was made of stone, and yet nothing was painted over, but the ceilings and everything had a height and size the amazed Lance. He could barely see the top of the hand carved fanvaulted ceilings, and instead felt like an ant standing on the floor of the Baths of Diocletian. He gulped, turning to Keith. From the windows on the top levels of the walls, he could feel Zarkon’s nearing presence. The hairs on his neck stood up. Zarkon knew Keith was here.

And what Keith was saying in Lance’s mind was only complete garbage. Was he supposed to believe this? Especially after what he could only assume Keith had been through, especially with the tears and blood darkening his shirt? Lance bit his lip with a sigh, realizing he had no other choice. Keith had been right about the weird feelings at the beginning of Voltron and finding his lion, Lance just had to trust him now.

He placed his hands on the smaller boys shoulders, gripping them fearfully and tightly, trying to pull Keith out of his daze.

“Then what is it saying to you right now, Keith. What is this place telling you?”

Keith stopped, moving his hand to grip onto Lance’s own for support. He sighed, breathing in the energy that surrounded the walls. He blearily looked around, his mouth slightly parted and lips plump red. The walls spoke to him in the language that Delora had used frequently, what his Mother had sung to him when he was a child. It was familiar. He understood the meaning behind the whispered dead language now, somehow grasping the overall meaning of the sentence rather than the word for word structure. 

His eyes flashed as the dark power ran through him, and he came back to Lance, looking at the other Paladin determinedly.

“Run.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There'll be another update this upcoming friday or saturday, work load and sickness depending.... But on that note, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you to everyone who has read up to this point, I hope it is still interesting, and its fun to now say that this story is on the downward spiral. Only a few more chapters left, each being shorter than the rest have been, so more like this one! a quicker and much easier read :) Also sorry for any errors, as always I try, but some escape me! Hope you enjoyed though!
> 
> And as of now, imma go watch some awesome Eyewitness or listen to Hamilton mix tapes, because, *perfection* and *sickness*... So... SEE YOU LOVELIES POSSIBLY HOPEFULLY THIS UPCOMING WEEK AT SOME POINT! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonjourrrr,  
> Warning/violence spoilers: non-major people die in this chapter, it's not as detailed and gruesome as the last few have been I think(?) but it's mentioned. As well, there is a lengthy battle scene at the end, someone is choked, a hand is burned from a gun, things explode, major characters suffer badly in a way that you guys may not like (only for now!!!!)... that part is in great detail, so please be warned!! (but I do promise a happy ending).
> 
> We're at the climax people, so... get ready!! Andddd, I hope you don't get tooooo many bad feels from the end?? hehe? I'm actually concerned... but after that, I'm actually happy I took a little longer and rewrote the beginning and middle portion. Im happy with how it turned out. So if you wish... Comment! Kudos! Just read! Enjoy! :D See you soon!

Zarkon’s shipped landed on one of the larger islands, a mountain range and sequence of lakes on top of vast plain. They were in a meadow between the junction of a circular mountain range. This was where his son-in-law had been slain by the sword of his own men, feeling not a hint of remorse. Haggar stood behind him, forever a supporting presence while her angered magic sparked at the tips of her fingers. The bridge of the ship fell forward. Zarkon had his eyes only set on the ancient ruins on top of the hill in the far distance. The rain soaked through his cape, dampening it and forcing it to drag against the dirt-enveloped floor. The cold never did reach his skin.

He had Haggar search the area with her abilities, locating Keith via his body temperature deep inside the tower, running. 

This would be interesting, Zarkon thought with a smile. Something about the thought, slaying his disrespectful grandson at the juncture that one of the boy’s own parents were killed, where the grandmother’s mind finally tore apart; it simply made the blood in his veins boil in lust. The melodrama of it all, he thought sweetly. He lived for this, forcing his home planet to become the one where his last family members were last seen. Masochistic? Possibly. Tragic? Heartfelt? Mournful? Yes. It was something to be written in historical scripts for years to come, a metaphor for guilt that Zarkon didn’t want to spend to much of his time doting on. And by Haggar’s nagging laugh to his side as she shot out another zap of lightening from excitement, he knew that she only thought the same.

* * *

“Where are we even going!” Keith shouted. They had been running for what felt like centuries. Keith, being shoeless, could feel the palms of his feet ripping and bleeding from the bed of rocks underneath. Lance cried out in frustration, Keith knocking into his back before taking another turn. This was only a repeated situation, Lance angered when they met yet another hallway. He held onto Keith’s bruised and swollen wrist, forcing the other to continue running behind him.

“A way out! We have to get to Blue!" 

“But isn't Zarkon and his army that way?!”

“Not if they keep following us they’re not!”

“Was this really your plan? Get Zarkon in here, and then escape through a backdoor or something?!”

“I panicked! I saw the wall of rain, you hurt, an oncoming enemy ship, and Blue out of our walking distance, so I was just like: Weird tower. Then the plan just developed. So yeah, what you said was pretty much it.” He exclaimed enthusiastically between frustrated breaths, the halls of the ruins looking all too much alike. This was an ancient alien civilization’s guard tower, so if there were any symbols of language that Lance could see scripted along the walls to guide him, he didn’t understand them. 

“No offence, but that’s terrible.” 

“Got any other ideas hotshot?” Lance bickered. He tugged more on Keith’s hurt wrist. The other openly grunted but continued moving tiredly. They ran further, turning at random intervals. Finally, Keith had enough.

“Lance, wait! Wait!” Lance stopped, looking around from door to door, his anxiety rising more each moment. There had to be a way out, right? There wasn’t just one maybe two entrances, right? This wasn’t Diocletian’s Palace in Split, right? Provoke Zarkons troops, lose them inside this hellish maze of a building, get to the Blue Lion that was closeish enough but still hidden next to Zarkon’s ship, escape! That had to be the plan… if only there was another way out. He tugged Keith’s bruised arm forward, forcing him to continue onward.

“No time! Zarkon’s on our tail!”

“Zarkon’s on my tail, you idiot. Not yours!” Keith yelled out. “Zarkon’s after me. He knows I’m here, but you’re still safe, Lance. You can still get away. Please, leave me here. I can deal with this myself for once!” 

“Oh yeah, like how you’ve dealt with Delora taking over your mind? Face it, Mullet, we’re a team. I’m here and I’m helping you out!" 

“But you shouldn’t have to keep putting yourself in harm just because of me!” Keith all but screamed, grabbing for Lance’s arm that still bore the horrendous scars. “You’ve been burned, scarred, electrocuted, gotten a broken wrist, and it was all because me.” 

“Yeah, like you really agreed to let all of that happen to you, right? Like you just consented to Delora overtaking your mind and using that dagger’s quintessence, huh?” 

Keith promptly ignored him. “Just let me take this one! I can’t let you just get hurt for me anymore.”

“And it’s the same for me, Keith. I just can’t stand around watching you suffer anymore, damn it. Let me help out here!.”

Keith set his feet into the floor, his wrist being ripped from Lance with a pained moan. They finally stopped running, stilled in the middle of an (of course) similar looking ruined hallway, fan-vaulted hand carved ceilings acres above their heads. It surprised Lance, for a mostly neutral land, they sure laid out their expenses in architecture, the slight wealth of their failing kingdom shown through the dominant and terrorizing height of their buildings. The hand carved statues, the dominating glares of the ceilings, the lengthy silver-like pillars that stood as thin as veiled marble. He was used to more subtle displays of wealth, never having too much to offer in that sense. Everything was kept, messy, near hoarded as it could always be of use later on. This place in contrast was barren, distraught. It was quiet. And Lance was now openly shaking with his need to run. “Just leave!”

Lance muttered a low, ‘well I would if I could’ but Keith hadn’t noticed that little quip. “I know you have some martyr complex and want me safe because of Voltron and the team or whatever, but please just-“

“No, it’s not just because of Voltron. Fuck, Keith, its so much more than that!”

Keith blinked at him in confusion, the violet eyes cutting Lance just a little too close. “What? How can it possibly be more than Voltron?! What other reason would you have besides the fact that I’m your team-” 

Lance palmed his face, sighing loudly before he shouted out, “Because I like you, Mullet! There, is that what you wanted to hear?! I like you and if I could I want to have all of your beautiful babies and all that fun shit...  _meirda!”_

Keith flushed, staring while Lance looked away. “Oh…” Was his solemn reply.

“Yeah…” Lance replied hesitantly.

“Lance, I-“

“Not now, Keith…”

“No, but Lance-“

“No, shit, like really not now Keith. We have to move!” Lance grabbed at Keith’s outstretched palm that was laid out and ready to ease Lance’s worry. He viciously pulled the other Paladin forward as they took off down the hall yet again, their feet echoing against the marble-like squared tiles. 

Haggar sent a savage sounding lightning strike towards them, illuminating the abandoned hallways. Beside her stood Zarkon withtheir entire fleet behind them, guns up and ready to shoot. 

They heard the fire of the triggers, feeling and seeing the shots pass just by their bodies, landing directly on the arched doorway in front of them.

Lance screamed, near falling over but catching his balance. He turned, dashing into one of the opened entrances to his side, Keith following in suite.

* * *

Their feet hurt, were bruised, were swollen, but they never stopped. They felt like they had been running for days. They couldn’t escape, only running further into the seemingly never ending watchtower, realizing their must have been an underground sanctuary to hide and survive back in the days of war…. Or lure their enemies into a life within an inescapable prison, Lance wasn’t sure.

Haggar and her troops were behind him them, always within seeing distance but always too far away to hit their targets. Anytime the Cuban had looked bad, he always saw her white hair wafting in the background. He never could see the much larger Emperor, assuming he had taken up his battalion in the middle or the back attack lines, guiding them from there. At this point, Lance decided he didn’t really care about these minute details. The shooting guns only made him more fearful as they ran into an area etched in an overwhelming noire.

“Is the tower saying anything else, Keith?! Please tell me there’s a secret passageway that Zarkon doesn’t know about!” Lance quietly shouted, trying not to give his location away from the giant corpse-like ancient purple kitty that wanted to see them both ruined. His chest tightened when he felt the lively twitch of a warm wrist, just underneath his own palm. His hand was still holding onto Keith, pulling him forward from behind. Lance needed to remember how he wasn’t alone in this.

And by god, was one of his biggest fears darkness. Irrefutable darkness. Onyx. Licorice. Raisin black. Dark, dark, unseeing death was what it all was.

The other boy, even with his pulse against his palm, was falling behind. After weeks of not sleeping from Delora’s games, and having just spent the last few days tortured with the bare minimal food to keep alive, Keith wasn’t doing so well. 

He huffed, trying to catch his breath. Everything felt so much more difficult and heavy, his chest tightening in jabbing pains and an enclosing heat while he tried to breath. He couldn’t understand, stamina was always one of his strong suits, where was it now? 

The tower flashed another image when his mind hurt with a particular stabbing pain. The alchemy always seemed to reach Keith when he was at his weakest, most open state for the energy to flow openly through then. He didn’t know if he subconsciously pulled the alchemy towards him when tired, or if it literally just flew at him on its own accord, but he was thankful. There, in the light of the past, the image flashed of the very tunnel they were in, only when it was alive and clean. Candles were hung along the walls to liven up the halls. It was leading the boys into an unknown area of a deep quintessence, natural lights falling from a domed ceiling and plants overtaking the circular stoned structure set in the middle of the room. Keith didn’t know if the Castle was with him or against him at this point, but he decided to trust it until further notice. They didn’t have anything else to guide them. Stupid plan or not. 

“Turn left!” Keith directed, focusing on the lightened picture of the past.

“There’s a left?!”

Keith only hummed and Lance turned in an instant, feeling his shoulder just breezing past a stoned wall.

The area they were in was covered in vines and leaves, given away by the ominous crunch of their feet with every step. 

It felt moist here, the terrain surrounding the walls cold. They heard streams of water running down pillars and flowing just underneath their toes, Keith feeling the wet and rather mushy moss underneath his every bare step. 

Lance gulped, slowing down.

Keith ran into him, offering an ‘ _oo_ f’ when landing against the lanky bean pole.

“Hey, watch-“

“Shhhh! We lost them!” Lance whispered profusely.

Keith rolled his eyes. “Haggar can still see us.” He said just a bit higher than a whisper. He remained cautious, was a bit more concerned if there was something else in the area that wasn’t Zarkon or Haggar.

“What?! How!” Lance continued to frantically whisper, moving forward. He put his hands out, using them as a wall or pillar detector so as not to walk into them. He swore this place was trying to break his perfectly shaped cute button nose. 

“Infrared sensory vision, I think. She can see us by our body heat.”

“…. _Mierda_.”

Keith didn’t know what that meant, could guess from Lance’s snarl, and instead just hummed his acknowledgement while moving slower behind Lance. He closed his eyes, trying to weakly pick up the bits of vibrating alchemy surrounding him. He did his best, now given a moment to breathe and relax. 

He could hear the racing army in the distance, some missing the black covered turn off Keith and Lance and taken, but Haggar had always been the one to know better.

Another picture was thrown over Keith’s eyes at his own request, forcing it to take place by waves of concentration. It was tiring, but Keith relied purely on stubbornness at this point. He had none of his own energy left to use.

It showed him the palace and where they walked when it was in perfect condition, lights and all. He could see the illuminated corridors, understanding the rhythms of their doorways and halls, each flowing around each other like infinity shape. To get to the centre that called out to Keith, one had to go through every set of corridors first, unless they knew the one shortcut that Lance and Keith had run towards. Luck was on their side with the quintessence subconsciously pulling them forward, but this place could easily make them lose track and force them back onto the main pathway and against the army again if they weren’t careful. It was kind of like an Ikea but with one secret exit to get to the cash checkout rather than proceed through every other possible home décor set. Keith internally laughed at the inane, almost relaxed thought.

“Right.” Keith prompted, and Lance turned. They continued on like this for awhile, the castle offering Keith painful flashes while the passage became more and more narrow. They could barely move out their elbows without hitting the gritty walls.

“Jesus, Keith. Where is this place bringing us?!”

A scream emitted from behind them, a rough laugh rushing down towards the frightened boys. They had been found.

“Shit, Lance, run! Run!" 

Keith tried to continue concentrating, his mind working around the maze of the Killachromians. He could sense it, feeling where they needed to go. He imagined the vines along the walls, moved the quintessence into their beings. He imagined the powerful roots dancing, swinging around and tying from one wall to the next, wrapping around each other with critical knots. They hugged desperately as Keith continued to run down the halls, controlling the momentarily sentient beings.

The vines moved together to create a new wall behind them, protecting the two fearful Paladins for now.

“What the-“ Haggar’s angered voice shouted down the cold corridor.

She screamed, bursting her lightning strike into Keith’s temporary vine wall. It didn’t go all the way through, but Keith could feel it failing, the loosening grips of its arms becoming like a thorn digging into his side while he tried to hold it together.

“ _Diluvium,"_ he whispered, and shivers ran down Lance’s back as his feet stopped themselves in the middle of the hall, body frozen.

Lance tightened his jaw, the air around them moving tensely, running in gushed winds back towards Haggar.

“Keith, what’s-“

A vicious bang emitted in the tunnel, the walls from the vines flooding down over the Galran soldiers. Keith smiled as he forced the quintessence in his mind to collapse in on itself, stopping Haggar and her army to further follow Lance and Keith.

“We’re safe for now.” He stated.

When Keith opened his eyes, the similar glow emitted forth, exactly the same as when Keith was trapped inside the warp. The vibrant intensity offered light towards the rest of the tunnel.

Lance could only stare, not sure how to respond to any of this. 

Keith could yield quintessence now? Had just destroyed a part of an ancient tower? Possibly just killed Haggar? He gulped, not being able to see anything past the blinding whites of Keith’s eyes.

He heard Keith give a small laugh. “You should see your face,” He said, raw and tired. His knees pitched forward, and Lance instinctually held out his arms, wrapping them around Keith to keep him upright.

Keith breathed heavily, his energy further taken.

“We’re almost there, Lance. Come on.” Keith coughed, trying to push his feet to move along the slushy floor, covered over with water and moss..

“Almost where?! Where are we going?!”

“Just keep going!”

* * *

The two walked for another two or so minutes, hearing Haggar’s wretched cries so eerily similar to Delora’s own when she passed on. The lightening strikes faded further and further away in the distance, barely reaching their ears. Whether it was because they moved quickly and further away and she couldn’t get past Keith’s self-destructive barrier, or if her powers were fading along with her life underneath the rubble- Lance choked on his spit, climbing over a fallen carved statue and turning into an entrance.

His eyes widened as they had made it safely into the centre core.

The room was long and circular. The roof hovered over them in a protective dome shape. With cracks in the tall ceiling, a blue light was scarcely emitted into the room like a falling curtain. There was a hand carved table, standing tall and bulky on each of its eight legs in the centre of the room, nature overtaking the area through the various floor creaks. The dagger buzzed with excitement in Keith’s hand as it recognized the area. Lance fitfully dragged him in a daze over a tree root twice their size, stumbling over the end portion none to gracefully. They climbed over the various items in their path, making it towards the dusted table. 

“Where are we?” Lance asked, setting Keith down against the ledge of the table as he looked around. There was obvious alchemy here, a spirituality demanding attention in the room. It was unwavering and steady, more felt and withdrawn. It was similar to entering an area of prayer for a religion you didn’t believe in: a church, a mosque, a temple. It may not be yours, but the presence and intensity still remained and thus garnered its immediate respect.

“I think we’re in the meeting room.” Keith coughed out. He felt a tinge of sweat drop from his brow, unsure if it was sweat or blood from a reopened wound. All he understood was how his entire being was engulfed with heated pain, completely tired of this feeling by now. He’d endured too much, and his body was starting to give way.

The ruins of the tower were enormous, beautiful and all deadly by its look. Lance couldn’t tear his eyes away. Any crack that had occurred in the years past has since been taken over by 10-30 foot vines and roots, larger then the stumps of the Red Woods in California that Lance had once seen on a family trip with his Dad. Streams of water could be heard milking their way down the tower, but unlike the corridor, the floor was dry and covered in debris.

Fallen rocks and pillars had crashed in fragments along the floor, etching over the canvas to create a thing of discarded beauty.

“Why do you think we were brought here?”

Lance turned to Keith, whose eyes were closed and breathing rough. 

“Don’t know, Lance.” He said through a raw pout. “Could you be quiet for a moment?” Keith asked abruptly but there was a hint of kindness behind it, if not also fervent rushing. 

“I need some energy to move.” Every word he said sounded pained and like it was his last. 

“So you’re going to take some of the quintessence from here, then?” When Keith never replied, Lance nodded to himself for some sense of agreement, “Well, okay then.”

Even with Keith’s rude and evident ignoring, Lance still offered a gentle side grin to the close-eyed boy. He got a good look of him then, heart beating faster as his eyes looked up and down his ragged form. ' _Yeah_ ,' Lance thought sadly. ' _He's barely holding on_.' He couldn't help but make an internal comment on Keith's strength to keep going, the word beautiful passing by in a brief moment.

“10-4 good buddy, I’ll be quiet. Just scavenging around over here. Don’t mind me!” As he moved away, he tripped loudly over stoned rocks that then knocked over a glass plate from the side table it rested on, crashing onto the ground with a haunting shatter.

He could hear Keith’s anger rising.

“Lance….” Keith scolded with a parental sigh, disappointment obvious. 

“Okay, quiet as of now…” Lance promised.

Lance felt around, searching for Blue and asking how she was doing. The Lions never sent back full words and sentences, rather just emotions depicting how they felt, connecting with their Paladins. She wavered curiosity towards Lance, followed quickly with an intensive growl, picking up on an unknown queue that made him shiver. He tried to question it, but she only forced it down, trying to calm herself for her Paladin. She knew something about this area, didn't like it. Yet she kept it hidden from Lance.

“Blue’s acting weird.”

Keith let out a pained moaned, doubled over on his torso as he held his stomach, hand anchoring into the ground.

“And so are you…” Lance bit over him bottom lip. He noticed the buzzing lift over the floors and through the walls, like a slow trance of quiet electricity. It fell to the ground, shapes and codes emitting light into the greying area. Lance fell back in time, to when he was first in that cave and the blue carvings came to life as he was introduced to Blue. 

This was here, now and again. Maybe it was the power of quintessence that made this all relative. Maybe Keith’s history offered an easier connection for their Lions to first contact them, as it had been Keith to truly discover the cave and its bizarre symbols. 

He followed along the shapes with the tip of his pointed finger, feeling the smoothed carvings shadowed against the stone planes.

Nothing was ever activated, but the hairs on the back of Lance’s neck rose, especially when he turned back to Keith, his eyes opened and glowing white again. His body was still and firmly set in a trance, the energy reaching him in floods as he reached out for it through his alchemy. 

“I think we were sent here to do something…” Lance sighed out, mentioning to no one but himself the ‘no-shit-Sherlock ‘ scenario.

Keith never rose, but his fingers brushed against the tiled floor before balling up into fists. The table behind him flourished from the energy it received through Keith, picking up instantly with similar Killachromian symbols of their ancient language. 

The roots began to move, twitching and becoming sentient. They moved like waves as they slithered on the ground, the vines evading Keith’s personal space with interest, gazing up at him like a curious puppy with a turn of their heads. 

Keith seemed to have all control. With a flick of his finger, they moved away and bowed, still regarding him as though he was a God.

“Holy shit…” Lance breathed, and the sound impacted everything. Every root and vine and tree and leaf turned their heads to Lance. He was an unfamiliar presence, an enemy here to hurt them and their almighty god. They openly vibrated their anger, seething and shaking, ready to move.

“ _Kataskotizo,"_  Keith said, having risen to his two feet and hovering a hand over the plants. He moved a finger, moving like the wind as he commanded them. " _Arg_ _ia eskaini._ "

And they shot towards Lance, set at a steady pace aiming to kill. Lance fell forward in a defense position. “What the fuck are you doing?!” He screeched in terror, activating his bayard while begging Keith not to do this, pleading whatever the other commanded the plants to do to stop.

“Keith, please! Hold them off!”

Keith did nothing, only stood and watched emotionless while Lance screamed and backed away from his own fear. He didn’t have anywhere to run as the quintessence seemingly took over his friend. The plants were too quick to outrun. He tried, though, dashing out of their way. 

“I said call them off!” He attempted again, just as the first 10 foot vine made it’s way to him, and brushed over him with a leap. 

It jumped right over Lance’s head, rushing past in a breeze, the rest of the army following in suit. Leaves and vines whipped past him as he remained in shock. They created a pathway, a solid like domed catacomb linking him to Keith and shying them away from the outside word. Keith still commanded everything with a hint of smile and glowing eyes. 

“Keith….” He could see the Galran bloodlust. His friend was too far gone.

He heard the blast before he felt it, shaking the room to its core and Lance fell to his knees. The large vined wall collapsed over top of him like a cracked eggshell peeling open. It fell to the ground dead as its top broke off from the outbreak.

The Blue Paladin turned backwards, looking at where the blast had come from, knowing Haggar and her army were still down the hall in the opposite direction.

 _So who could have?-_  

Emperor Zarkon stood at the ruined entrance, smoking leaves and plants burnt to a crisp, falling in puddles around him like hail in a snow storm.

He still held out his own bayard, activating it and using its power to destroy the area.

“Out of the way Blue Paladin, unless you too have a death wish.”

Lance, still on one knee, took his bayard into his hand, directing aim at Zarkon.

“Try and make me, Old Man!” Lance pressed the trigger, shots firing all around the elderly Emperor.

Dust lifted into the air, Lance not allowing himself a moment of relief until he knew for sure that one of his shots made impact.

A vine wrapped around his wrist, forcing his bayard out of his grip.

“What? ... What?!” The vine threw the bayard out of Lance’s grasp and onto the ground near a cornered wall. Another vine wrapped around his torso and waist, lifting him up and moving him gently out of the way towards the same area.

“Stay there, Lance.” Keith called out, his hand raised and powerful. 

Zarkon stepped forward, smiling.

“Protecting your boytoy?”

Keith snarled. “He’s not my boytoy.”

“Keep telling yourself that, son.” 

Keith screamed, the vines launching themselves towards a stilled Zarkon. The man never moved, only allowing the vines to overtake his body, squeezing him over his armour and sodden cloak.

“Come with me, Keith. You don’t belong here.” Zarkon tried to debate, body too calm for his situation. Keith only nodded and grinned further, his alchemy growing as he continued to charge it through the stoned blocks below.

“You don’t know what you’re doing, you only have an inkling of the power you can attain. I can teach you the proper ways to battle, not this disrespectful and illegal type of fighting style you seem so fond of.”

Keith’s moved his hands, movements like a calm ocean and the vines squeezed tighter.

Zarkon sighed. “I thought I wouldn’t have to do this.”

The power behind his bayard activated, the shooting beam eliciting a screech from behind the plants around his chest. He aimed directly for Keith. 

The gun exploded outward, the plants around him ripping and tearing to shreds.

Keith looked devastated when he jumped out of the way, rolling onto the ground and back onto his feet. He screamed again, grabbing his dagger and throwing himself towards Zarkon, the hysterical look from Delora’s cave back on his face.

Keith could only see red, needing Zarkon’s deadened corpse in front of him if it’s the last thing he ever sees.

He wouldn’t rest until that future played out from his own hands.

Zarkon held himself in an offensive position, his bayard transforming from a gun to a pristine zweihander.

The two met mid way. Keith turned his dagger into a horizontal position, striking against Zarkon’s incoming sword, doing the impossible and stopping it mid strike. His feet slid backwards from Zarkon’s strength. He pushed forward though, determined as ever while he threw his weight into it and wretched Zarkon’s sword back. He jumped forward, slashing over Zarkon’s shoulder but missing while the larger man fell away in defence.

Zarkon remained respectful in a military sense, only using his sword and never taking cheap shots, believing that a true battle should be fought with blood and hands, and not from a distance with arrows or guns. Sure, it had always worked well enough in the past, but his moral side much preferred this method; it felt more honourable.

Zarkon brought down his sword, not slicing Keith but instead knocking its fuller hard against Keith’s head as the boy tried to dodge. 

Keith groaned, staggering backwards as his vision swayed. He could feel blood falling down his hair, reaching his neck and wetting the pitiful set of clothing he still wore.

Keith growled, feeling the warm liquid fall. 

Zarkon seemed to shrug. “It didn’t have to end like this, Keith.”

Keith once again tried to strike Zarkon’s chest with his tiny dagger, but his movements were slow and sloppy, both from the exhaustion his body felt and the minor concussion he had just suffered from the side edges of Zarkon’s sword. 

Zarkon latched onto his swollen wrist, his sword at ease and throwing the dagger away and near the table. He pulled the boy forward by his hand, letting go when he stumbled forward and instead reached for his neck.

“You could have been great.”

Keith never made a sound when he was lifted from the ground, his feet leaving the peace of having solid floor beneath them.

Zarkon held him with one hand, wringing Keith’s neck with all that he had. Keith’s mouth was opened as he tried to breath, tossing himself in Zarkon’s grip. He kicked his legs out and scratched at Zarkon’s hand, trying to get away as the elder held him tighter.

He swore he felt his eyes bulge from the pressure. He could feel the oxygen leave him, his vision darken around the room. He could barely whimper when the world turned grey and his power left him.

A blast was heard, and it was a direct hit between Keith and Zarkon’s hand gripping tightly to his bruised neck. Zarkon screamed from the burn, tossing Keith far to the side from his shock.

Keith landed in a rolling heap near the stoned table, coughing out. He blinked with his human eyes, trying to look at where the blast had come from.

Lance stood tall from the cornered wall. He still remained in the vine’s tight and protective grip. But what was interesting was the various plants huddled around him, much like the army Keith had formed at the beginning of this fight. 

A standing set of shaky leaves piled together, holding Lance’s bayard like a hand and rested a finger on the trigger of the gun. They had formed the blast, Lance standing beside them. His face held the look of a soldier who’d seen too much, taking years away from his life.

The vine let him go, and Lance fell forward gracefully on two feet, gathering his bayard and walking towards Zarkon with his gun up and aiming.

“Get out of the way, Blue Paladin. This is between me and the half-breed.” 

“Touch him and die, bitch.”

There was a tiny shake of his shoulders, either from fear or anger, Keith couldn’t tell. But when he saw Lance take a quick look towards Keith, rage writhing, then Keith knew it was from anger. He could sympathize with Lance, having only been able to watch from the side yet again, able to do nothing as a loved one remains in pain. Lance could only watch when the violent glow of Keith's eyes faded in flashes, Keith’s natural eye colour setting back into reality when Zarkon was killing him. And that must have killed Lance to see, given how he was acting now, vengeful and all demanding. In all honesty, if the scenario had been switched, Keith was pretty sure he’d be doing the same thing as Lance was right now. 

Somehow, the quintessence must have responded to Lance’s need, Keith subconsciously moving his own power over to the other boy, fulfilling his highest prioritized desire. Keith coughed again, grabbing at the table as he began to stand.

Lance launched another shot.

Zarkon dodged, holding his injured hand against his chest while he held out his sword.

“A gun against a sword? That isn’t a fair fight, Paladin.”

“Nothing in life is fair.” Lance launched another shot. It missed and ended up hitting the far wall, the stone tower shaking while some of the ceiling fell in pieces from the devastating hit. Lance stilled, lifting his bayard for a better position. 

Zarkon sighed, changing his bayard once again to a gun and aiming it too at Lance.

“Pity.” He spoke.

“You’re telling me.” Lance said back.

Lance pressed his finger on the trigger as he continued to shoot at Zarkon, never taking a break.

Zarkon’s own gun was charging power, only going to release when it was ready for a final blast. The light and screech built up, reminding Lance of a screaming woman from behind his own gun’s noises.

Lance wailed out, spit and sweat hitting the ground. He couldn’t stop. He had to save them. He could save the universe. He had to stop Zarkon. 

He saw the light extend, lifting up like a beautiful halo before the energized power shot forward. 

Lance screamed, turning his body to the side as he pressed his arm against his eyes in a defensive position, as though he was protecting himself from an oncoming wave in the ocean.

A vine shot out, grabbing him by the waist and throwing him over and into the stoned table when he was only mere inches away from the blast. He swore he heard a cracking from his lower spine when he made impact, pain taking over his lower system. 

Zarkon’s blast detonated the far wall. Nothing remained in it’s place, not even a hint of a shadow from the ancient existence. So much was lost in only a few seconds.

The ripple effect of the oncoming shake was deadly, moving the entire building with one vibrating burst.

Lance remained on the floor, Keith grabbing onto his shirt and lifting him onto his feet. Holding him.

The glow of his eyes were back, more powerful than before. And Lance knew this was the final blow. This was all the power the tower had left rising into Keith.

As Keith touched him, a gentle shock ran through his veins and Lance could hear the whispers of the past, people speaking to him through a blurred hurricane, everywhere and anywhere. He didn’t know what they were saying, but he felt the effects of the alchemy behind the whispered words.

He looked up to Keith, both of their faces void of emotion as the voices overtook their minds, telling them what to do.

And Lance knew he was only experiencing about .01 percent of that power, of that rush of sound. He couldn’t even imagine what it must be like for Keith.

Zarkon fell forward heavily, feeling the rise of the alchemic energy and becoming afraid.

He rushed forward, trying to get to the boys. He held his gun, trying to recharge its energy for another final blow.

He screamed out, positioning his gun towards the two boys who remained huddled in a soft glow. Orbs of quintessence moved around them softly while they stared at each other, a silent conversation being spoken.

“No!” Zarkon screamed, and he tried to press his unhurt finger on the trigger, but only found it to be covered over protectively. 

Branches and leaves had risen up his legs and over the bayard, stopping the action. “No!” he tried to aim again but the vines and plants began to shake, forcing the bayard out of his palm and pitching it towards Lance’s feet.

The boy didn’t even notice, still too absorbed with what his mind was telling him.

Keith took Lance’s hand in his own, pressing his forehead against the Cuban boy’s, his lips beginning to move.

Zarkon screamed out, kicking out of the plants sturdy walls that tried to attach him to the ground. He ran towards the Paladins, spit flying and his hands pressed outwards needing to finish them off.

Keith spoke the Killachromian language he had listened to everyday for the last little while, projecting each syllable with intensity and an enchanting enunciation. 

 _“Ad patrem meum, nos sinit de hodie,”_ Keith began, eyes closing as he held the dagger and tightening his hold on Lance’s hand.

“What are you doing?!”” Zarkon screamed, the quintessence absorbing and glowing with its energy.

_ “Obsecro te, dimitte nobis,” _

“Stop this!” He tried to run forward, the vines of the castle sentient and whipping him, slashing him, cutting into his armour and crimson cape. They then wrapped around his waist rather than his feet to prevent the Galra commander to move any further. They lifted him from the floor before slamming him down on his stomach, overtaking his body. He still tried to reach his hand out, fingers stretching with a pathetic hope that he could stop the oncoming impact. They curled over him like a cruel blanket, never allowing him to move.

Keith continued on with the spell. 

 _“Quai cum opes, in virtute,"_  

“Do you not understand?! You’ll destroy everything, this entire planet! You’ll both die as well!”

Lance offered Zarkon a knowing look. They understood the consequences.

Lance stood tall beside Keith, grabbing onto the dagger’s glowing handle over top of Keith’s own hand.

They circled around each other, looking straight into the other as the power began to climax.

Their hair was whipping from the speed, both of their eyes now glowed together with the familiar bright white. They were becoming one and the same, Lance&Keith again and yet they felt no fear. They could stop all of this, the entire intergalactic war, right now.

With a nod from Lance, they tightened their grip. Lance heard the scream commencing, a shrieking that filled the entire room like a semi slamming on its breaks too late, not at all avoiding impact. From behind his closed eyes, Lance could see the light, brighter than anything he could shut out, tear himself away from. It was truly blinding, yet he held onto the dagger, moving to enclose Keith into his arms. The dry whisps of the other’s hair tickled his chin as he pressed his face into Lance’s shoulder. The powerful winds blew against them, surrounding them like a tornado.

Together, they both emitted the words:

_ ‘Cum dilectione, et de hoc mundo. In perpetuum exisse." _

* * *

From the nearly arriving Castle of Lions, the Paladins felt the power of the supernova wave before seeing it.

Standing together from the control deck in their petty search, they witnessed the white beam shoot up from the inner depths of the planet, catapulting like a rapid torpedo. It barely missed their location.

The Paladins could only stand by in fear while they saw the planet overtaken with fire and flames. They knew what that meant.

Keith, in the middle of it all, only saw white as the world tumbled beneath him, rapidly leaving this life the same way he entered, with a soft whimper and in the arms of someone he loved.

* * *

Lance, in contrast, felt it all. Every little bit of anything.

He was flung backwards with the words, torn away from Keith and the dagger. He was left all but blind and weightless, allowing himself to be overtaken. He wondered briefly if this is what it is like for everyone, like his father and grandfather and grandfather’s father. His memories were taken from him one by one, seeping away like flowing blood. Others were ripped away and severed, slashing at all he had left. But as soon they’re lifted from him, teasingly with a faint symbol, they’re gone too quickly to mourn. Little fragments of nothingness left in their place, like areas of space that should be filled but just aren’t. A coffin left without a body.

It’s all wrong. 

Pieces of himself fade into time with the wind, leaving him flying, dazed, confused, and unsure. He grabs at things when he can: a dog barking, military boots left at a doorside, butterscotch cookies, living purple space goo that embodied hatred, a heavy salted wave against his chest, the feel of a clutch. He hears two boisterous laughs that could light up a room. 

He sees thin, pale fingers brushing against his, the feel of soft raven hair when he caressed his head. He held someone those nights, sleeping peacefully and soundly and remembered the warmth that had come with it. These things slip from between his fingers, leaving him lost and forgotten. The white turns to peach and soft creams as he forgets, everything gone with a strike of excruciating loneliness. The universe turns in on him through the spinning of the hurricane, leaving him cold and curling in on himself. He’s trying to remember what he thought he would miss, like any of that had ever mattered. It was gone now.

His arms clenched around himself, as though there should be something there yet seizes to exist; in his arms, there is no shape to take its place.

He only knows they’re empty now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact 1) because I don't want to trigger anyone --> no major characters die!!! (errr... Haggar and Zarkon don't count sorry!) I wouldn't do that to you without a warning first. Lance and Keith will ultimately be fine! :D 
> 
> Fun fact 2) With that being said though, Lance's 'death' scene was actually one of the first things I wrote for this fic. I wrote it out, and then I had a bunch of other ideas that I wanted to write about for Voltron as well, so I just sort of started coming up with a way for them all to work together, leading up to this moment. I'm really happy with how it turned out :)
> 
> Fun fact 3) Because I'm depressing and can't make up a language, I originally used bits of ancient greek, latin and basque to form Killachromian. My latin is not the best since graduating, but it is the one I know best, so the Killachromian language and spells just sort of became that.... I know my grammar and sentence structure is not entirely correct though, sorry Latin Folks! I tried, I really did :/
> 
> Dilivium – latin, flood  
> Kataskotizo (κατασκοτίζω) - veiled in darkness, ancient greek,  
> argia eskaini - basque, light is offered (Im pree sure my present tense verb conjugation is wrong here...)
> 
> Latin:  
> ad patrem meum, nos sinit de hodie – to my father, we suffer from today  
> Obsecro te, dimitte nobis – I beg you, forgive us  
> quai cum opes, in virtute – for with wealth, with power  
> Cum dilectione, et de hoc mundo. in perpetuum exisse’ with love and out of this world. Forever gone.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a kudos or comment only if you wish! Hope you liked it, 2 more chapters to go! Also, shameless self promotion: my tumblr is www.turnawaytherose.tumblr.com I sometimes reblog cool shit.


	10. the end

Keith awoke in a cream coloured room that seemed to last forever. There was only a flat landscape, and yet in the distance he noticed a surrounding blurred wall. It etched around him like inconsistent static. He walked in each direction, feeling no heat or cold; there was nothing really. The closer he got to the edges the further away they became.

“What the-“

“It’s not your time yet, Keith.” A woman spoke.

Keith whipped around, a shorter woman standing right behind him. She looked to be middle aged, tired yet smiling. She had completely covered lavender skin and black Galra fur encasing her facial features. Her enlarged ears twitched in question as he peered at her. Her straight black hair fell crisp around her shoulders, dark violet human eyes shutting together. There was no doubt she was half human and half Galra, both genes present by her appearance.

He knew who this was.

“M-mom?” Keith dared.

She offered a mournful smile and yet nodded her head all the same. “It hurts to hear you question it. I wish I had never left you alone there,”

“Mom!” Keith ran to her, wrapping his arms around the smaller woman. She tightened her own grip, clutching him closely.

“Where are we?” he whimpered out. He’d never seen this woman, nor did he truly remember her face. He only recognized the sounds of her voice. It was still strong and gentle, a kind tone that had always there.

She tightened her hold before letting go, hands still on his upper arms.

“It’s a type of purgatory, Keith.”

He looked around, staring at the creamed coloured walls.

“So I’m not dead?” 

“Not yet, but you only have so much time. Your body is losing its life source. Once it’s completely gone, you may never return. But you do have a few moments.” 

She patted his shoulder, trying to assure the scared boy. 

“You’ve grown up so strong, Keith. I’m very proud of you.” 

Keith blinked at this, the words not quite hitting his shocked spirit.

“I destroyed your dagger.” He whispered out.

She nodded assuredly. “That is why I am here as well. I had placed my last remaining source of life in that dagger, to protect you as best I could given the circumstances.”

He stared.

“I thought I heard something from the dagger...” He admitted sheepishly. He took her hands into his, analyzing the Galran claws with his calloused thumbs. “Late at night in the orphanage, I’d hold it and I swore I could here it singing. That was you, wasn’t it?”

“You never did like sleeping, even as a baby you seemed to appreciate insomnia more.” She laughed at this memory. “Even when I wanted to sleep, though.”

Keith felt the heated blush overlap his pale features. “Oh, uhm, I guess I’m sorry about that.” He offered sheepishly.

She immediately frowned. “But you always loved the sound of my voice. The lullabies always seemed to quiet you down some.”

Keith nodded, the familiar songs now whispers in the background of his mind. 

“Still, sorry about the sleep thing…” 

She shook her head. “Never apologize that, Keith. You were placed into a situation without your own choosing. And I put you there. Our family forced that fate upon you. I should be the one apologizing-”

“But you did it for the best, you had good intentions. Neither you or me could live in Space without being killed, and you couldn’t remain living on Earth. It was literally killing you.” He stated, making sure she understood that he forgave her. It wasn’t her fault either. It never had been.

“I’m glad to hear you say that, but it is my biggest regret. You lost so much of your childhood, so much happiness we could have shared as a family. But you adapted, and still grew so well. You’re a good person. I know that much.” 

Keith smiled, wanting to hug her again. This was his mother, his family right in front of him in the flesh. Both Galra and Human and the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. He felt a connection and what his heart told him to be familial love. 

Is-is what it was supposed to be like? Is this what Lance, Hunk, Shiro and especially Pidge were missing from back on Earth? He could only imagine it in the past, pretend it at the most, but now? Right now, Keith didn’t want to leave at all. He wanted to find out more, hear about everything. Her story, her thoughts, her advice. 

He wanted to be with her, create those memories they never had the chance to explore. And the idea of leaving her behind, here for dead, made him feel like he was becoming an orphan all over again. This time, though, it felt so much worse. His heart severed at the thought.

“You don’t have much time, Keith. You have to choose. What do you really want?”

He blinked, regarding her as she nodded her head for him to concentrate. He gulped when she repeated the question.

This time he listened, and closed his eyes at her voice: pictures of trees, rivers and sublime mountains flew towards him and hit him like lightning strikes almost immediately. He saw tall grass sweeping across a serene landscape while ruins of an ancient castle overtook the foothills. The collapsed pieces of stone were scattered and covered beautifully with immensely green vines and leaves. Water sprinkled down streams while blue sky and kind white clouds hovered above.

He then saw the desert shack, a lion flying above him in the air confidently. He felt the wind whip around his hair as he flew his bike, a pair of sturdy hands holding his waist from behind as heated words were pressed into his ear.

He pictured a bed, sheets hiding the secrecy of the current bond, moans emitting with a significant heat. He imagined them so in love that nothing could break their barrier. Nothing could allow him to see what was only between two people. 

Picturing that and then reopening his eyes, his mother stood before him.

He knew what he wanted, but he now knew what he was losing.

A sob escaped his throat, tears promptly falling down his face in cascades.

“Ohh, ohh no.” She said, pulling him towards her as they fell to the ground on their knees. “Shhh, now. It’s okay. You’ve made your choice.” She rubbed his back as he continued weep, shoulders shaking. She pressed his head against her chest soothingly. 

“But, but, I’ve just met you, and I have so much to ask and-” 

“Shh, now, Keith. Just breathe,” 

Keith followed her advice, trying to calm himself.

“I’ll still be around.” She hushed. 

“But you won’t b-be, a-and-“ He argued like a petulant child. 

“In your thoughts, in your dreams.” She continued over his rising voice. “In your memories and songs. People die, sweetheart, but we never truly leave. There are always parts of us around. You just need to stop and listen to it.” 

“But I need more than that!”

_I just got this, I can’t lose it already._ He thought obtusely.

“I only offer what I can give.” She smiled sadly, wanting to give her child more, but knowing the limits. She was only a spirit and had been for years. In all honesty, she never thought she’d even hold him again, and this was truly more than she could have ever hoped for. 

But there was no body for her to return to at this point on Earth.

Her heart broke at her son’s cries, but here she was, already feeling her own power being sucked away. She felt herself losing her own life, and thus losing her child again. It was the worst experience of all. Her body felt severed from the abrupt thought, but she continued on, pressing further against him. Her own eyes teared up but she never let them fall, instead focusing on the pain of her son.

“Just look to the wind, my song will always be there, just as it has before.” She brushed his unkept hair out of his face, quietly laughing. “Still so unruly, just like when you were a baby.” She kissed his forehead as he shook his head impatiently, eyes wide and haunted. He choked out at the kiss, grimacing and sobbing.

A sudden shriek entered the room like a siren wailing and his mother disappeared before his eyes. Just, blink, and she was gone.

His breath quickened with panic.

“Mom?” Keith called out fearfully. “Mom?!” He screamed through the tears and looked around wildly. “MOM!”

He heard the groan from the distance. Getting off from his knees, he swung around, only to see Lance on the floor ahead of him. The boy laid painfully unconscious, curled in on himself and whimpering. 

“Lance?” Keith ran towards the other. He reached the Blue Paladin and swept the other into his arms, touching his face for a sign of life.

“Lance?!” The other only let out a weak moan and barely moved. He looked sickly grey. He was also more noticeably scarred, burned, and cut open with gashes across his torn armour. No blood flowed from the opened wounds, but this was purgatory. Keith hadn’t really known what to expect.

“His life force is draining, he has but a few seconds.” She appeared in front of him in slow flashes. Her power was draining, and she could barely remain in the room. Her human black knee skirt and blue sweater vividly contrasting to the area. It’s what she wore the night she passed on.

“You can save him and the planet. You have the power, Keith. My power as well as yours.”

Tearing away from Lance, he turned upwards towards her, so unsure and so scared.

“But how?!” He screamed out, shaking Lance. The other’s head limped to the side like a rag doll. His mouth was open and wheezing out his last few breaths quietly. 

“Please! Help me! He’s dying!”

She shook her head.

“What do you really want, Keith.” She repeated.

“What!? No, I need answers! Please give me answers!!” He was howling by now, tears still dripping down his face as his screams echoed against the cream tinged walls.

“Please.” He fell forward then, holding Lance’s collapsed body against his chest, silently wailing.

“Picture it Keith, and it will come to you. Just breathe.”

Keith tightened his eyes, breathing deeply. _Patience yields focus_ , he remembered suddenly. Her words and Shiros entranced Keith, opening his mind. He tightened his hold on Lance and breathed, trying to calm himself. 

He pictured it again. The trees in the forest. Hot Chocolate at the orphanage. The dogs barking at the foster home. The firm mattress at the garrison, unlike any other he ever owned before.

Emotion poured into him slowly, as if he were savouring the flavor of a good meal. He felt the happiness stinging his cheeks as he drove his bike across the desert. The first time had been by himself under the stars, moving so quickly he barely kept control. He felt the bond of the other Paladins as they connected into one as Voltron. There were then arms surrounding him, begging him to come back, holding him with obvious distraught tone while wind and pain surrounded his body. 

He saw their faces, everyone on board the Castle. 

He wanted that, the family he found himself.

He felt her hand on his shoulders, her power entering through him with a gasp, her spirit fading with it. He saw the blinding flash of blue behind his eyes, leaking into his mind and his thoughts. The quintessence was building like an aura around his body as it always had when Delora had tried taking over. This time it was his, though, all his with the aid of his mother, somehow still showing him what to do. 

The body in his arm gasped with a light breath, the blue particles richly evading all of his senses.

“I love you, Keith.” She spoke faintly, dying.

The thunderous zap struck through his body like a lightning bolt, tearing him and Lance away from this place.

Keith was blinded by the evaporating light, turning him and throwing him around in its daze. The power burned through his veins as Keith replayed the images in his mind.

Voltron. The Red Lion. Hunk. Coran. Pidge.

He saw a Shiro and Allura waving to him, wanting him to join them.

He felt Lance’s hand around his, pulling him forward with a cocky laugh, a silent competition between them. Bare feet smacked freely against the Earthly terrain, running up a field.

He pictured the shack again, the same scenario as the last. He was on the bed this time, pinned on the mattress beneath Lance. The sounds they made for each other emanated loudly against the destitute walls. A feverish temperature rolled off the sheets, Keith swaying back and forth from its movements, his legs opening up further to allow Lance further inside while he moaned. The bedframe creaked with them. 

Underneath the moonlight and stars that shined down through the window like a cerulean halo, Keith heard a different voice whisper the words, “I love you.”

Keith landed back in reality with an achy thud. Black took his vision instantly as he held onto Lance, resting peacefully as kind dreams continued on in his mind.

 

* * *

 

Small, dark blue eyes blinked open slowly, swaying to and fro from reality and imagination. The oncoming light of the surrounding fields had awaken him. The sunlight was slowing rising on the horizon, and Lance had to admit, it looked like Earth. The dark hues of blue faded into the light pinks and purples and slowly into an enchanting red. The colours wafted over the greens of the tall grass, the expansive trees blanketing the surrounding foothills. A creature chirped a lullaby song in the background. There was a river raging in the valley that Lance looked down upon from his place on the high hill. A circular mountain range further in the distance could be seen, playing games with the rising sun on it’s edged peaks.

Lance dared to say it was beautiful, a warm movement pressing slightly more into his chest. He no longer felt sick seeing the colour blue.

Lance allowed his eyes to fall back shut. He honestly thought he was dead. And if he was, then that’s something he could deal with later. Right now, this felt like heaven.

 

* * *

 

 

When Lance reawoke, the sun was staring straight above him in the cloudless sky. The blue was a lighter shade than on Earth, like an iceberg in the Artic. It was vastly more intense, shining, pale yet deep. Flying small bird like creatures with multiple sets of rice paper thin wings were in the sky, chirping songs of joy as they fluttered around, chasing each other.

Lance moved with a grown. Everything hurt. Then again, he couldn’t remember a day that he had woken up and something didn’t hurt. His sore muscles just seemed to need to remind him, ‘Hey! We’re still alive, you did this to us- now feel our wrath.’

It was an honest joy. He turned his neck sideways, noticing that he had fallen asleep on the side of a large hill, the vast valley and river in the distance still untamed and peaceful. Tall grass shaded him and his body from the burning sun, keeping him secure and comfortable. When he turned in the opposite direction, he gasped in pain. The kink in his neck wouldn’t allow the movement, apparently. 

Shit, he thought. ‘ _That’s going to take a few days. Looks like I’ll be a uniturner for a while, only looking right_ …’

He heard a groan from below. He glanced down and finally took notice to the warmth that was clouding his vision. Fluffier black hair swept across his shoulder and even brushed against his nose. Lance vaguely noticed the large black ears twitching on top of Keith’s head like a cat. One of Lance’s arms was resting over Keith, while the other laid out on his side, touching the grass. Keith growled lowly. His body and muscles beginning to stretch out beside Lance’s body. He yawned, little fangs and sharp teeth being shown as bright as day. He turned his head from his resting place on Lance’s chest to look at him in the eyes.

His nose was likened to a Galras, and his skin now held a fair shade on lavender that mixed in with his pale cheeks, no longer the pale peach it had been before. There were some noticeable dark pieces of tufts mixing with his thick hair to shade his sharp features, as well as around his wrists and ankles. His grey shirt was hiked up, and Lance could see the thin line of purple hair replacing Keith’s past darker treasure trail. But he held the same shape as before, still Keith, still human waist, legs, arms, chest, and feet, still the same shape.

Lance couldn’t help but think how Keith had taken after his Mother in this regard. Either way, Lance could still stand taller than him. Err- cat ears be damned…

But then they stared at each other in silence. “Holy shit,” Keith breathed.

Lance blinked.

“Holy shit,” Keith said again, touching Lance’s face with his slightly lengthened and thinner fingers. They looked like lavender coloured claws. 

“Oh my, oh my god!” Lance practically screeched at Keith’s enthusiasm. “We’re alive, oh my god!” Lance laughed, surging upright as it dawned on him too. Keith followed in suit, mostly because he didn’t have a choice. His legs were spread beside Lance’s as his ass seemed to fall into Lances lap. He startled at the sudden movement, latching himself around Lance’s shoulders. 

“Lance!” He shouted agitated. 

Lance however, continued to laugh overenthusiastically and ever so Lance-like. He grabbed Keith’s waist, standing on his feet and moving Keith along with him. Keith, not quite grasping any straws yet and probably still thinking he was dead, held onto Lance’s shoulders for dear life. 

“We’re alive, and you’re you! The- the- you’re not completely- but your quintessence shit saved us!“

Keith looked down at himself, human body still attached yet mixed in with the Galran resemblances. He still held the same human form, lean and shorter. From their place around Lance’s neck, he saw his exposed arms and his newly coloured lavender skin with light fur that camouflaged well with his human hair. His nose and hands and ears felt different, heard differently, even colours seemed to appear more vibrant. It felt odd and not at all natural. His legs and feet were physically the same, but his body was different. Something he wasn’t used to it and wasn’t sure he liked.

Keith supposed this is what he was, Part Galra and Part Human. A mutt. It was just surprising as he had more Galra in his blood; Shouldn’t that be more present?

Interestingly enough, Keith thought as he looked over himself and Lance, everything had been healed over from the destruction. There were no burns from the first mind control episode, no broken wrist, no scars or burns or huge impacting injuries could be seen from all the other times Lance tried to save Keith and ended up wounded in the cross fire. Keith winced at that thought.

_Idiot._

But still, Keith couldn’t help the tilt of his head from confusion. 

“But, the dagger, my mothers power…. This planet. We destroyed it. I should be completely, y’know… I mean, shouldn’t I?” He questioned fearfully. 

“No,” Lance laughed, eyes grazing over every bit of Keith that he could in take, petting behind Keith’s now enlarged ears. They twitched from the touch and fell backwards in worry, his still human violet eyes dilating like a cats. Lance almost died at the cuteness of it all.

“No, Keith, this is your ‘true form’, maybe human genes are just more dominant? But this is you, what you really look like. The dagger never hid any of that… You actually look a lot like your Mother.”

“But the quintessence has the energy that I’ve been using to keep my human body in tact, apparently. Without the dagger and my mother, I shouldn’t have an energy source anymore, I should look mostly Galran, I just don’t understand-”

“You don’t need it Keith, because you are the energy source. You, yourself, hold the power to yield quintessence energy, like the Killachromians or Delora. Holy fuck,” Lance breathed loudly, hand slapping over own face. “You’re a fucking Galra humanoid wizard! Who just saved our lives!!”

When the two were standing right up, Lance couldn’t keep from hugging the life out of Keith, literally screaming ‘We’re alive! We’re alive!’ which left an echo racing through the lavish valley.

And using his obvious more muscle mass and power, Lance picked Keith up and began to twirl the other around by his waist, Keith’s still attached normal human feet flying through the air in infinity circles. The fresh air breezed past them, the blades of grass tickling their legs. It was so fresh, so clean, and not at all space.

Keith’s bare feet landed with a slide as he laughed. Back on the ground and both out of breath he removed his arms from his shoulders, backing up slightly to rest the palms of his hands on Lance’s chest, looking at the newfounded tufts of hair on his wrists and feet. Lance still held him around his waist.

They looked at each other, smiling wide. And Keith got it, he understood. They were alive and unharmed. He smiled openly, palms tightening over Lance’s still tattered armour.

He laughed again but more quieted down, like there was still some bubbled up feelings needing to be released. He chanced a glance up, Lance staring down at him like he held the universe in his palms. The openness in his eyes was remarkable, something Keith was a little jealous of when he visibly swallowed. 

Lance, with his smile faltering realized his position. Arms wrapped around the other, Keith’s hands on his chest.

There faces were only inches apart, hot breath gliding over their flushed cheeks, eyes dilating.

He moved in, eyes still on Keith’s. Their lips hovered over each other for a second before Lance realized what he was doing. He shot back, arms not at all gracefully whipping away from Keith. He lost his balance and stumbled, albeit with embarrassment when he almost slid onto his ass and down the side of the bank. He arched his foot and kept his balance, standing a few feet away now. One arm was behind his back while the other extended up and behind his head. He scratched the back of his hair on his neck, smiling with a slight grimace as he tightened his eyes shut. 

“That was, uhm, really something else, I guess, huh?” His heartbeat was thumping so hard against his chest, he swore he was being animated in one of those bugs bunny cartoons and could see it jutting out of his frame.

_ohmygodomhmygodohmygod_

Keith hadn’t moved, eyes still blinking quizzically at how Lance moved away so fast. He looked back to other, smiling sweetly.

He stepped forward, reaching for Lance’s arm. “It’s okay, you know?”

Reaching into Lance’s space, he pulled Lance’s arm back down and around his torso. Keith smiled, chuckling. He stood up on his tiptoes to be a little higher, making sure Lance understood. He breathed hotly over the others ear, “I feel it too,”

Lance gasped aloud when Keith hooked his clawed fingers over his chin, moving his head to place a soft kiss on his lips. Lance didn’t move. He didn’t breathe. He blinked, watching widely at Keith’s closed eyes. His lips pressed harder against Lance’s own. 

A few seconds later, Keith fell back. “You know, the point of a kiss is to have two people participating. It’s no fun if it’s only one-“

Lance pulled Keith’s face back to him, opening up and kissing deeply into his mouth. Keith made a small surprised noise, allowing Lance’s tongue to plunge deep into his own, a battle of tongues beginning their dance. They explored each other then, heat and tension building up. Lance held one arm around Keith while the other wrapped tightly into his hair, pulling at it. 

Keith moaned, backing away.

Lance immediately fell towards the exposed flesh of Keith’s neck, kissing, nipping and sucking it gently.

Keith wrapped himself into Lance, huffing out a laugh. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.” He admitted lustfully.

“I think I’ve got you beat,” Lance then stated normally, like he wasn’t being affected by this at all. _Liar._

“Oh really?” Keith tried to laugh but rather moaned when Lance kissed a particularly sensitive spot. Keith then let his legs fall beneath him, landing on his back onto the hillside, pulling Lance on top of him as they laid in their bed of grass. Lance continued his exploration of the other’s changed body. His hand began to wrap around Keith’s hip, fingering the v-shaped purple bone. It felt oddly different as Lance grazed his hand over the other, like it was something that shouldn’t exist, more roughened and cold, while still completely human. A smooth surface running into softer fur and vice versa. Lance never complained, it was a difference he was lucky to experience. He moved under Keith’s shirt near his hip bone, grabbing his side and marking up his flesh as he nipped at Keith’s collarbone. Keith gasped, flushing deeply. His nailed claws ripped down Lance’s back, forcing vibrations threw the torn armour that made Lance visibly flush and shiver. Guess his alchemy didn’t fix torn up clothes, Keith thought briefly.

Lance _hmmhed_ softly, moving up back to Keith’s mouth. “I’ve been wanting to do that since you first beat me in the stimulator at the garrison.” He said between short kisses.

“Ohh,” Keith expressed, never one for words. ‘Yeah, then I guess you have me beat for once,” 

Lance shrugged, “The heart wants what it wants, and I guess I really wanted you.” 

“You’re so corny,” 

“But you love it,”

Keith blushed, nose sensitive and tickling when Lance butted his forehead into his own. “Yeah, apparently I do.”

They swept back into the kiss, moving deeper. They attached themselves over and over again thrusting against the other’s body for pleasure. They kissed under the burning sun until their eyes were tired and their lips were raw. 

They knew the other paladins would be coming for them, could already sense their lions orbiting the planet created blissfully anew nearby. They would be taken away from here soon, this amazing, beautiful, wonderful, place that was Killachrome. Keith could understand how his Mother had lived here for so long peacefully. 

In the background on the top of the hill, the palace remained in only broken ruins, misshapen fragments that distorted the serene landscape.

Instead, mounds of grass and vines hovered over the remnants of built up stone. The fallen pillars were now drenched over with luscious vines, and the fallen stoned walls were covered by the branches of a willow tree and the soft flowers of a colourful wisteria tree. The stoned stairs were shielded by the tall and lengthy sized grass that moved like an ocean’s wave from the wind. Keith guessed that the underground catacombs and mazed chambers had all but collapsed.

The ruins now looked to be overtaken for thousands of years, rather than a single night.

The remaining magic of the dagger must have unleashed, the true alchemic properties taking back its environment. Nothing manmade and artificial remained, and magic could no longer be felt in the area. It had been all used up to restore its contemporary environment, Keith assumed. It was back to its original state, before Delora had arrived and before Zarkon had overtaken the planet. It was a lush and serene environment in retrospect; a true masterpiece for an artists eye. 

But all Keith noticed was the boy on top of him, gazing towards him like he owned the world. As though Keith was something worth loving, worth taking care of. And Keith knew he looked back at Lance with the same sort of open emotion. He just hoped he didn’t look as wrecked as he felt.

His stomach fluttered as the warm blush spread. “You’re beautiful,” Keith admitted. 

Lance laughed tiredly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Now who’s the corny one?” 

Keith rolled his eyes and hummed.

Lance sighed and began to shut his eyes, body deciding the boy needed sleep like a decade ago. 

“Hmm, no matter. Guess you’re stuck with me now, huh, Mullet?”

Keith smiled and relaxed, feeling more than listening.

The song of the forgotten was no longer present. It had completely vanished, destroyed along with the magic. The sound, Delora’s voice or those of the passed on Killachromians in the castle no longer surrounded Keith, no longer held that burden that had wrapped around Keith shoulders for weeks. 

And Keith knew that underneath the pile of debris and rubble over taken by the leaves, his grandfather, Zarkon, was laid to rest, his empire now without a true ruler.

And when Keith thought about it, he knew he wouldn’t ever overtake that position. It was his grandparents, sure, he was the ‘true heir’, sure, but that wasn’t his true family. It wasn’t his fate. Family wasn’t always destined by blood. 

And thinking about it with grief, that dagger, the one true remnant to the only person he had loved before Voltron, faded in the background. Her smiling face and her gentle voice with her lullabies leaving along with it. 

Maybe Keith had lost his only remaining family artifact, his mother’s touch finally leaving him alone forever, but when he felt the presence of his Lion closing in, and he looked down the warm and kind and sweet sleeping form of Lance on top of him, Keith appreciated how he had gained something new in its place. He wasn’t sure how the Paladins would react to his new form, knew they all had their burdens against the Galra that could cause this to go totally awry. He understood that their acceptance and his transition from old body to new would take a while. But that was all for the next chapter in Keith’s strange life. For now, he just wanted to close the book on this chapter, reminiscing back on what he’d been through with fondness and strength. He could experience the harsh reality just a little later. For now, his body wanted rest. 

So with final whispering words before he too began to fall asleep, Keith replied,

“I’m okay with that.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~The end~
> 
> Thank you for everyone who has read up this even a little and especially up until the end, I know this is lengthy fic. and thank you to everyone who may have left a comment and kudos along the way. They truly made my days a little better.
> 
> My goal was to finish this fic before season 2, and trust me, this was a great way to pass the time while waiting for it :) I started this fic back in October, and I'm kind of proud by how much I was able to do in just a few months. I hope you've enjoyed the journey as much as I have in the end :) 
> 
> Happy New Year everyone, and hope to see everyone around for season 2 <3 Thanks again!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfic into the Voltron community, even though I've been cheering from the sidelines for months. I haven't written fanfic in years, but I've decided to get back into it now that I have the time, which is exciting! Hoping this isn't too dry and boring , I am just getting back into things.  
> I should say that I am typically a Sheith girl, but I just love Klance. So, this fic (spoilers) will be Klance endgame because Lance just wasn't having it. So if it seems shiethy at this point and that isn't your up of tea, please don't worry, I just needed to explain the planet and how they got into this mess. I also edit myself as I don't have anyone to help me out, so if there are mistakes, thats why. I just missed them.
> 
> Also, if there are any tags I'm missing or doing something wrong, please let me know! I'm new to this Archive format... Any help is good help :)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it so far, Keith and Lance have a long and interesting adventure ahead of them. I have most of this lenghty fic already written out. Editing is still a thing though.
> 
> My tumblr is: http://turnawaytherose.tumblr.com/


End file.
